
LEE MONUMENT AT RICHMOND 



LIFE OF 



Robert E. Lee 



<r^ 



^ 



YTur. MARY lJwtlliamson 

AUTHOR OF LIFE OF WASHINGTON, LIFE OF JACKSON, 
AND LIFE OF STUART. 




JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY 

RICHMOK'D 



BIOGRAPHICAL 


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1 

JAN13 195S ' ao^-^^ 



BS K9T vwm 




Copyright, 1895, 1918. 
BY MARY L. WILLIAMSON. 



PREFACE 

In preparing the Life of Robert E. Lee for school 
use, I have been imi3elled by a knowledge of the im- 
portance of the task and the value of such a book to 
children. There are exceptionally good reasons for em- 
ploying it as a supplementary reader, especially at 
this time. 

First, there is an urgent need of interesting our 
young i^eople in history at an early age. From obser- 
vation, I have found that the minds of children who 
study history exjiand more rapidl}' than those who are 
restricted to stories in readers. While teachers are en- 
gaged in instructing pupils how to read, why should 
they not, at the same time, fix in the pupils' minds the 
names and deeds of our great men, and thereby lay the 
foundation for sound historical knowledge and genuine 
patriotism? 

Second, no other great American presents quite such 
a picture of moral grandeur as Lee. In the absolute 
purity of his life and the unselfish nobility of his aims, 
he stands preeminent among the heroes of our land. 
Place this picture before the little ones and you cannot 
fail to make them look upward to the noblest ideals. 

The book is intended for supplementary reading in 
the third grade. In preparing it, I have referred espe- 
cially to Fitzhugh Lee's Life of Lee and to Rev. J. Wm. 
Jones's Personal Reminiscences of R. E. Lee^ although 
all the important works bearing on Lee have been more 
or less consulted. In the revision of the original ia^i^ 
General Alexander's Military Memoirs of a Confed- 
erate has been followed to a considerable extent. 

Mary L. "Williamson. 
New Market, Va. 



CONTENTS 

I. Birth and Youth 9' 

11. The Young Engineer 18 

III. The Cavalry Officer 31 

IV. The Confederate General 45 

V. The Confederate General 67 

VI. The College President 1 09 

VII. The Man in Peace and in War 122 

VIII. The People's Hero 147 

War Poems 159 

Suggested Program I7l 



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ROBERT EDWARD LEE 



Life of Robert E. Lee 



CHAPTEE I 
Birth and Youth ./ 

Egbert Edward Lee was botjf.^t Strat- 
ford, Westmoreland county, Yirginra, on Janu- 
ary 19, 1807. His father, Henry Lee, had 
been a general in Washington's army in the 
Eevolutionary War. He is sometimes called 
''Light Horse Harry Lee," because he led a 
troop of fast-riding horsemen who were the 
eyes and ears of the x\merican army. 

After the war, Henry Lee became governor 
of Virginia and later a member of Congress. 
When Washington died, it was Lee who said 
of him in a speech made before Congress that 
he was "First in war, first in peace, and first 
in the hearts of his countrymen." Another 
time he spoke words which seemed to foretell 



10 LIFE OF EOBEET E. LEE 

his son's future : ''Virginia is my countr}^, her 
will I obey, however sad the fate to which it 
may subject me.'' 

The long line of Lees may be traced back to 
Launcelot Lee, of Loudon, in France, who fol- 
lowed WilHam the Conqueror to England. 
When Harold, the English king, had fallen on 
the bloocfj^' field of Hastings, Launcelot Lee w^as 
given by* iK^illiam an estate in Essex. From 
that timj^'tjie name of Lee has ever been an 
honorabb one in the historv of England. 

In the days of King Charles the First, 
Richard Lee came to Virginia from England. 
He was a big, strong, sensible, kind-hearted 
man. With Eichard, the noble line of Virginia 
Lees began. He w^as the great-great-grand- 
father of Eobert E. Lee, who was much like 
him in many ways. 

Robert Lee's mother was Anne Hill Charter, 
who came from one of the best families of Vir- 
ginia. She was a good and noble woman and 
lived mainly to train her children in the right 
w^av. She owned a fine old mansion named 



BIRTH AND YOUTH 11 

Stratford, on tlie Potomac river, near the Inrtli- 
place of Washington. It was here that Eohert 
was horn and here he passed his first years, 
phiying in a summer house on the roof or in th(^ 
large garden. 




STRATFORD 



Robert had two brothers and two sisters. 
The brothers were Cliarles Carter and Sidney 
Smith Lee, and the sisters Anne and Miklred. 
Eobert was the youngest of the boys. 

When he was four years old, the family 
moved to Alexandria, a town not far from the 



12 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

liome-place, where better schools were to be 
found than in the country. Xot long after 
moving to Alexandria, Henr}^ Lee was hurt by 
a mob in a street fight in Baltimore and was 
never well again. He went to the West Indies 
in search of health when Eobert was six years 
old. He used to write long letters to his eldest 
son, Charles Carter Lee, a college student, in 
one of which he said, ''Tell me of Anne? Has 
she grown tall? Robert was always good." 
The father wished to know whether his sons 
rode and shot well, saying that Virginia boys 
should be taught to ride, shoot, and tell the 
truth. 

After a stay of five years in the West Lidies, 
Henry Lee started liome. He grew very ill on 
the voyage, however, and was put ashore on 
Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia. 
Here he lay for weeks in the home of a friend. 
Sometimes his pain was so great that he would 
drive the servants and all others out of the 
room. At length an old colored woman was 
sent to nurse him, and she understood how to 




" LIGHT HORSE " HARRY LEE 



14 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

deal with him. The first time she came into 
the room, General Lee threw his boot at her. 
Picking it up without a word, she threw it back 
at him. Her brave spirit forced a smile from 
the d3ang soldier, who from that time to tlie 
last da}" of his life would have no one wait on 
him but Mom Sarah, as the old servant was 
called. 

Henr}" Lee died two months after landing 
on the island. His body was buried there. 

Eobert was now a boy eleven years old. As 
his father had written of him, he was good, and 
he had been made so b}^ his motlier's love and 
care. He had never known a father's guidance. 
Mrs. Lee once said to a friend, "How can I 
spare Eobert I He is both a son and a daugh- 
ter to me." 

Slie was an invalid and needed tender care. 
As her other sons and her daughters were away 
from home, tlie duty of watching over her fell 
to Eobert. He took the keys and "kept house" 
for her when she was sick, and also saw to all 
her outside work. He would run home from 



BIRTH AND YOUTH 15 

school to ride out ^Yitll lier, so that she might 
enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. When out 
riding, if she complained of the cold or of 
draughts, he would stuff paper in the cracks in 
the old coach with his penknife. He was ever 
thoughtful of her comfort. 

Although he took such care of his mother, 
Eobert found time to enjoy many outdoor 
sports. He liked hunting and would sometimes 
follow the homids on foot all day long. In this 
way he gained the great strength of body which 
was never known to fail in after life. At school 
he was a faithful, hard-working student. He 
did well in all his studies. At first he went 
to school to a Mr. Leary, and later to a school 
kept by Benjamin H. Hallowell, who said that 
he never failed in a lesson. 

It was a happy life he led in Alexandria, and 
his old home there, in which his mother had 
lived, was always a sacred place to him. In 
later years a friend once found him looking 
sadly over the fence of the garden wliei-e he 
had played as a child. ''I am looking," he said, 



16 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

"to see if the old snowball trees are still here. 

I should be sorry to miss them." 

When Eobert Lee was eighteen years old, he 
went to the Military Academy at West Point 
to become a soldier. He stayed there four 
years, coming out second in his class. He was 
never given a demerit; he studied hard; and 
always kept himself neat and his gun bright. 

On his return from West Point, Robert 
found his mother's coachman, Uncle Xat, very 
ill. He took the old servant to the South and 
tended him faithfully until he passed away in 
the following spring. 

Xot long after this his own beloved mother 
was taken sick. Robert did everything in his 
power for her. He sat by the bedside day and 
night, giving her food and medicine with his 
own hands. But his loving kindness could not 
save her. She died in July, 1829, leaving 
Robert almost alone in the world. Some one 
has said, "Much has been written of what the 
world owes to Marv. the mother of Washino- 



BIRTH AND YOUTH 17 

t( n ; but it owes scarcely less to Anne, the 
mother of Lee." 

Draughts (drafts) : currents of air. 
Gen' er al : the head of an army, or a high offi- 
cer in it. 

In' va lid : a person that is sickly and infirm. 

Tell what you remember about — 
Eobert's father. 
Robert's mother. 
Where he lived. 
His kindness to his mother. 
His life at West Point. 




CHAPTER II 

Tlie Young Engineer 

In 1829, wlien twenty-two years old, Robert 
E. Lee became a lieutenant in the engineer 
corps of the United States army. It is the duty 
of engineers in time of peace to plan forts, build 
roads, keep the channels of rivers open, and do 
other work of a like kind. Lieutenant Lee 
began liis long service under the United States 
government at Hampton Roads, in Virginia. 
Here he built strong forts, never dreaming that 
it would be his lot in later years to seek to pull 
them down. 

Amidst these duties Robert found time for 
love-making. On June 30, 1831, he married 
Mary Randolph Custis, the only child of Wash- 
ington's adopted son, George Parke Custis. She 
lived in a fine old place on the Virginia bank of 
the Potomac river, called Arlington. Mary 
Custis was a charming woman, and Lieutenant 

[18] 



20 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Lee was very handsome in face and tall and 

erect in figure. 

Two years after his marriage, young Lee 
was sent to Washington on office duty. This 
change greatly pleased him, as he was able to 
be with his wife at Arlington. Li 1837 he was 
ordered to St. Louis to find means to keep the 
Mississippi river from changing its bed. 
General Winfield Scott, when asked to lend 
his help, said that he knew of but one man equal 
to the task and that man was Robert E. Lee, 
''He is young," Scott wrote; "but if the work 
can be done, he will do ^t." 

At St. Louis, Lee's j)lans were opposed, and 
people tried to drive away liis workmen; can- 
non even were brought up against them. Lee, 
however, calmty went on with his work and in 
the end had his own way. The great river still 
flows in tlie channel he laid out for it. 

From St. Louis he went to ^ew York, where 
he was bmy for a time in building forts to pro- 
tect the city and harbor. While living here he 
owned sotoe pets of which he was very fond. 



THE YOUNG ENGINEER 21 

One was a black and tan terrier named Spec. 
Spec's mother had been saved from drowning 
by Lee and taken home to be a plaj^mate for 
the famil}^ The puppy Spec was made mucli 
of and always tried to follow the children wher- 
ever they went, even to clmrch. Lee at last 
shut him up on the upper floor of the house to 
keep him from going along, but Spec jumped 
out of the second-story window and soon came 
crawling into the family pew. The little dog 
was very fond of Lee, who wrote of him : 

^'^iy only companv is my dogs and cats. 
But Spec has become so jealous now that he 
will hardly let me look at the cats. He seems 
to be afraid that I am going off from him, and 
never lets me stir without him. He lies down 
in the office from eight to four without moving, 
and turns himself before the fire as the side 
from it becomes cold." 

Lee was now a captain and his work as an 
engineer had made him well known. Before 
long he was called to new and larger duties 
by the breaking out of war between the United 



22 LIFE OF EOBEET E. LEE 

States and Mexico in 1846. Engineers are of 
as much use to an army as sails to ships. They 
make roads and bridges, draw maps, plant can- 
non, plan lines of trenches, and guide the sol- 
diers when going into battle. As soon as the 
war began. Captain Lee went to the north of 
Mexico to join General Wool. 

Wool sent liim out to get news of the Mexi- 
can army under General Santa Anna, which 
was said to be near. He rode off into the moun- 
tains with only one man to guide him. After 
lie had been riding some hours, he saw on a dis- 
tant hillside tlie smoke of fires, and white 
objects which seemed to be tents. Thinking he 
had fomid the enemy, he went on very care- 
fully ; when he drew near, he saw that the white 
objects were flocks of sheep and herds of cattle 
and mules on the way to market. Lee found 
out from the drivers that Santa Anna had not 
crossed the mountains, and went back to the 
army, wliich had almost given him up for lost. 
He had ridden forty miles that da\. In spite 
of that, three hours later he rode out a second 



THE YOUNG ENGINEEE 23 

time with a troop of horsemen and found out 
exactly where* Santa Amia's army was. 




The war in northern Mexico ended when 
General Taylor defeated Santa Anna at Mon- 
terey. Santa Anna fell hack toward the City 
of Mexico. Instead of pursuing the Mexicans, 
the Americans decitled to attack that citv from 



24 LIFE OF KOBERT E. LEE 

the east. For this purpose a strong force, under 
General Scott, was landed near the city of Vera 
Cruz (va' rii kroos) . Captain Lee was ordered 
to join this army. 

General Scott wished to take Vera Cruz, 
which was the chief seaport of Mexico. Among 
its defences was a high wall with strong forts. 
Captain Lee was soon husy throwing up earth- 
works hefore the city and planting cannon 
behind them. 

As he did not have soldiers enough for the 
work, sailors were sent from the warships to 
help him. The seamen began to complain 
loudly about their new duty. "They did not 
enlist to dig dirt, and tlie}^ did not want to work 
under a landlubber anyhow." Their leader 
said to Lee, "The boys don't want any dirt to 
hide behind ; they want to get on the top, where 
they can have a fair fight." Lee, quietly sliow- 
ing his orders, made everyone continue the 
work in spite of the growls and curses of the 
sailors. 

Just as the work was done, the Mexicans 



THE YOUNG ENGINEEK 25 

began to fire their guns, and the sailors were 
glad enough then to hide behind the earth 
walls. Their leader afterward said to Lee. 
"I suppose the dirt did save some of my boys. 
But I knew we would have no use for dirt 
banks on shipboard. AYliat we want there is 
a clear deck and an open sea. The fact is, 
Captain, I don't like this land fighting anyway ; 
it aint cleanJ^ 

Vera Cruz was taken by General Scott in 
two weeks' time. The American soldiers then 
marched inland over high mountains until they 
came to a pass between two of them, called 
Cerro Gordo (ser' o gor' do) . The Mexican 
army was posted here. Captain Lee found a 
way to lead the Americans to the rear of the 
Mexicans, who broke and fled. 

While the battle was at its height, Lee heard 
the cries of a little barefooted Mexican girl, 
who stood beside a wounded drummer boy. 
Her eyes were streaming with tears and lier 
hands were clasped, for she feared that the 
drummer boy, her brother, would die. He had 



26 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

been shot in the arm and a big Mexican soldier 
had fallen on him, holding him to the ground. 
Captain Lee had the drummer boy moved to a 
place of safery, much to the httle sister's joy. 
She was very thankful to him for saving her 
brother's life. 

From Cerro Gordo, Lee wrote to his son 
Custis : "I thought of you, my dear Custis, on 
the 18th in the battle, and wondered, wlien the 
musket balls and grape were whistling over my 
head, where I could put you, if with me, to be 
safe. I was truty thankful you were at schooL 
I hope, learning to be good and wise. You 
have no idea what a horrible sight a battle- 
field is." 

The Americans now marched through great 
mountain gorges to the large and rich Cit}^ of 
Mexico. During this march it was Captain 
Lee's duty to go ahead to guide the troops. 
Once it seemed that no way could be found 
around the momitain passes, held by man}^ 
Mexican soldiers with cannon. General Scott 
sent out seven officers to find a road tlu'oudi a 



THE YOUNG EXGIXEER 27 

great field of broken lava and rock. Six of 
them came back, saying that they had failed. 
The seventh was Lee, who fomid a mule path 




LEE AS CAPTAIN OF ENGINEERS 

by which he led a body of troops to the rear of 
the Mexicans. Yet this small force was soon 
in great danger, for the whole Mexican army 



28 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

turned to attack it. Lee came back alone over 
the lava field, in a fierce storm, to get aid from 
General Scott. The latter said that this act was 
the greatest feat done by any man in the 
whole w^ar. 

Many battles w^ere fought, but at last the City 
of Mexico fell into the hands of General Scott. 
In after years he was heard to say that his suc- 
cess in Mexico was largely due to the skill and 
bravery of Robert E. Lee, who was the best 
soldier he had ever seen in the field. 

In the midst of all the fighting, Lee's family 
had ever been in his thoughts. He wrote to 
Custis on Christmas Eve, 1846: 

^'I hope good Santa Claus will fill my Rob's, 
stocking to-night; that Mildred's, Agnes's, and 
xlnnle's ma}" break down with good things. I 
do not know what he may have for you and 
Mary, but if he leaves 3"ou one-half of what I 
wish, 3"ou will want for nothing. I think if I 
had one of you on each side of me, riding on 
ponies, I would be quite happ3\" 

Soon after he wrote to the boys thus: 



THE YOUXG EXGINEER 29 

"The ponies here cost from ten to fifty 

dollars. I have three horses, but Creole is my 

pet. She is a golden dmi color, and takes me 

over all the ditches I have yet met with." 

When the war ended in 1848, Captain Lee 
went home for a short rest. He then took up 
his duties as an engineer officer and built Tort 
Carroll in Baltimore harbor. While he was 
here, some Cubans came to offer him the com- 
mand of a force which was to be sent to drive 
the Spaniards from Cuba. A large sum of 
money was to be paid him and he was to be 
given the rank of general. After careful 
thought, Lee replied that he did not believe it 
would be right for him, a soldier of the United 
States, to fight against a country with which 
his own was at peace. So he refused the offer 
and remained a simple captain. 

In 1852 he became superintendent of the 
Military Academ}^ at West Point, from whose 
halls he had gone forth twenty-three years 
before. His dutv now was to watch over the 



30 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

studies and training of the boys who would one 

day be officers in the army. 

Corps (k5re) : a large body of troops. 

Feat: a great deed. 

Gorge: a deep cleft between two mountains. 

La' va : melted matter flowing from a volcano ; 
it hardens into glassy rock when cold. 

Lieu ten' ant (lu ten' ant) : an officer next below 
a captain. 

Tell- 
When Robert became Lieutenant Lee. 
Whom he married. 
Where he was sent in 1837, 
What war broke out in 1846. 
About a great feat performed by Captain 

Lee. 
Where he was sent in 1848. 
What position he accepted in 1852. 




CHAPTER III 
The Cavalry Officer 

After three yeai's at West Point, young Lee 
was sent to Texas as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
Second llegiment of Cavalry. Cavalrymen 
are soldiers who fight on horseback and who 
•carry sabers, pistols, and short guns, called 
carbines. 

Colonel Lee did not wish to leave the engi- 
neer corps, as he had won high rank in his 
work, but his new place was a higher one and 
so he thought it best to take it. He had always 
been a fine horseman and he was still fond of 
horses. There was need for him to be a good 
rider, too, for in Texas he was once called on 
to ride eight hundred miles in forty days. 

Lee liked to ride over the great plains of 
Texas, watching the Indians and keeping them 
from harming the white people. But he did 
not enjoy living in the forts so well. These 

[31] 



32 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

army posts were in the midst of dreary plains 
far from towns and farms, and tliey were, 
therefore; very lonesome. The scouting parties 
sent out against the Indians were led by lieu- 
tenants, while the liigher officers stayed behind 
at the forts to see that all w^ent well. Such a 
dull and lonely hfe did not suit Lee, but he 
made the best of it. 

In the neighborhood of Lee's first post. Camp 
Cooper, there was a tract of land set aside for 
Indians, who were cared for b}^ the United 
States government. They stayed here when 
the weather was cold and food w^as scarce; but 
in the spi'ing, when the grass began to sprout 
and the game grew fat, they would roam at will 
over the vast prairies. At such times they often 
killed white people and burned their houses. 

Catmnseh, a Comanche (co man' die) chief, 
was living near Camp Cooper, when Lee w^as 
there. The Comanches were the fiercest tribe 
in that region. They ate raw meat, and were 
great thieves and murderers. But the}^ were 
also fine horsemen, riding swiftly from place 



THE CAVALKY OFFICER 33 

to place on their ponies, and it was hard to 
catch them. 

Lee once went to see Catumseh and had a 



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LEE CHASING THE INDIANS 



talk with him. He made a speech in which he 
said he would trust Catumseh as long as he he- 
haved himself, but would hold the chief as a 



34 LIFE OF EOBEKT E. LEE 

foe if lie did not behave himself. Catumseh 
gave an ugly grunt at this and said that as he 
had six wives he was a ''big Indian" ; Lee had 
only one wife and had ''better get more before 
he talked." Catumseh no doubt wished to have 
Lee's scalp, while Lee was not pleased with the 
boastful savage. 

Li June, 1856, Lee went out with four com- 
panies of his regiment to fight the Comanches, 
lout they could not be found. The wily Indians 
had fled to their desert retreats, where the feet 
of white men had never trod. 

Lee wrote Mrs. Lee from Camp Cooper: 
''My Fourth of July was spent after a march 
of thirty miles in one of the branches of the 
Erazos, under my blanket, which rested on four 
sticks driven in the ground, as a sunshade. The 
sun was fiery hot, the air like a furnace, and 
the water salt; still my love for my country 
was as great, my faith in her future as true, as 
they would have been under better circum- 
stances." 

Another time he tells of a sudden change in 



THE CAVALEY OFFICEE 35 

the weather: "I came here in a cokl nortlier, 
and though I pitched my tent in the most shel- 
tered place I could find, I found this morning, 
when getting up, my bucket of water, which 
was close by my bed, so hard frozen that I had 
to break the ice before I could pour the water 
into the basin." 

While Colonel Lee rode with his troopers 
from fort to fort, a sickness broke out among 
them from whicli nmny of them died. In an- 
other letter from Camp Cooper he tells of this : 
''The great heat has made much sickness among 
the men. The children, too, have suffered. A 
bright little bo}^ died from it a few days since. 
He was the only child, and his parents were 
much grieved at his loss." He wrote home from 
Fort Brown, Texas: "Though absent, my 
heart will be in the midst of 3^ou; I can do 
nothing but love and pray for 3^ou all. My 
daily walks are alone, up and down the banks 
of the river, and my chief pleasure comes from 
my own thoughts, and from the sight of the 
flowers and animals I meet with here." 



36 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Lee was always thinking of that beautiful 
home of his at Arlington, so far away. A large 
3t11ow cat, called Tom Tita, was one of the 
playmates of the childi'en there. This fact led 
Colonel Lee to write home about the cats he 
saw in his travels in the West. Once he wrote : 




TOM TITA 



"Did I tell 3^ou about Jim Xooks, Mrs. 
Waite's cat? He died. I foretold his end. 
Coffee and cream for breakfast, poundcake for 
luncli, turtle and oysters for dinner, buttered 
toast for tea, and Mexican rats, taken raw, for 
supper. He grew huge and ended in a spasm. 
His beauty could not save him. I saw in San 
Antonio a cat dressed up for compan}^ He 



THE CAVALRY OFFICER 3T 

had two holes hored m each ear, and in each 
were two bows of pink and bkie ribbon. His 
round face, set in pink and bkie, looked like a 
big owl in an ivy bush. He w^as snow white. 
His tail and feet were tipped with black, and 
his eyes of green were truly catlike." 
He wrote home at Christmas, 1856 : 
''I hope you all had a joyous Christmas at 
Arlington, and that it may be long and often 
repeated. I thought of you and wished to be 
with you. Mine was silently passed. I tried 
to find some presents for the children in tlie fort 
and did better than I expected. ... I found 
a beautiful Dutch doll for little Emma, one of 
those crying babies that can open and shut their 
eyes ; for two other girls, handsome French tea- 
pots to match their cups. Then, with knives 
and books, I satisfied the boys. After tliis I 
W'Cnt to church; then. Major Thomas and I 
dined with the clergyman, Mr. Passmore, on 
I'oast turkey and plum pudding. God l:)less you 

aiir 

In the summer of 1857 Lee was made 



38 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

colonel of his regiment. The next fall his 
father-in-law, G. P. Custis, died, leaving Lee 
to carry ont his will, which called for the free- 
ing of all his slaves in five years' time. Colonel 
Lee now went home for a short rest. 

After staying a while with his lovely wife, 
he returned to his post in Texas. It must have 
been far from easy for him to go back to the 
wild, hard life of the plains. There were then 
no railroads in that part of the country. The 
United States mail was carried on mules by 
armed soldiers, who rode swiftly across the 
prairies. Often they were slain by the Lidians, 
who would scalp them and leave their bodies 
to be found by the troopers as they chased the 
savages back to their retreats. 

Two years more were spent in Texas. Then, 
in October, 1859, we find Lee again at home, 
taking part in a great tragedy. John Brown, 
who had fought slavery in Kansas, planned to 
free the slaves in Virginia and rob the white 
people. With a body of men he tried to carry 
out his plot at Harper's rerr}^ on the Potomac 



40 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

river, but the slaves would not give liim aid and 

the plan did not succeed. 

Colonel Lee was sent from Washington to 
Harper's Ferry with a company of soldiers to 
capture these bold men. He attacked the house 
which Brown and his band held and took it. 
Brown and those of his men who were not 
killed in the fight were tried and hanged. 

Who were these negro slaves that John 
Brown wished to free? The first negroes in 
this country were brought to Virginia by a 
Dutch vessel in 1619. They were sold to the 
planters and put to work in the corn and to- 
bacco fields. The slaves proved to be of such 
value that more of them were wanted. Many 
Northern people, finding that the}^ could sell 
black men at a profit, went to Africa for the 
purpose of hunting them. Large numbers of 
negroes were brought to America and sold to 
the people of the N'orth and South, though even 
then some persons thought it wrong to buy and 
sell human beings. Li Georgia it was for a 
time against the law to hold negro slaves. 



THE CAVALRY OFFICER 41 

After a while it was found that the climate 
of the North was too cold for the blacks. It did 
not pay the people of the Xorth to keep them, 
so they ceased to buy slaves. In the warm 
climate of the South, more like that of Africa, 
the negroes did well and grew greatly in num- 
ber. The land was soon full of them. In 1 808 
it was made unlawful to bring any more slaves 
from xlfrica to the United States. The people 
of the South, as well as of the North, were glad 
that the slave trade was stopped, and many 
people in all parts of the country wished to set 
the neorroes free. But this was a hard thino- 
to do. 

When the blacks first came from Africa they 
were heathen savages and some of them ate 
human flesh. In a few years, however, they 
learned the speech and customs of the white 
people, and, more than all, the worship of God. 
So we must remember tliat if there were evils 
in slavery, it also brought blessings to the black 
folk. At the time of John Brown's Raid tliei-e 
were four millions of negroes in the Soutli. The 



42 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

slaves for the most part loved their masters, as 
we have seen was the case when John Brown 
tried to get them to attack the whites. They 
stayed at home, refusing to join him. 

For many years a feeling had been growing 
up in the T^orth that it was wrong to own slaves, 
and some of the Northern people had come to 
hate the South on this account. The Southern 
people knew that by the law of the land they 
had a right to own slaves. They claimed that 
the slaves were well-fed and well-treated and, 
for the most part, happy. The Southern States 
also thought that they had a ridit to leave the 
Union of States and set up a government of 
their own, if the Northern people would not 
leave them at peace because of slavers^ The 
T^orth denied this right to leave the Union, or 
secede. So the K'orth and South quarreled over 
slaver}^ and States' Rights mitil they came to 
the point of war. 

Lee went back once more to Texas after the 
Brown Eaid. He was much troubled over the 
state of the country. He loved the Union and 



THE CAVALRY OFFICER 43 

had given most of his hf e to its service ; but he 
felt that Virginia and the South were in the 
right and that he could not fight against them. 

Lee was offered the connnand of the United 
States army if he would stay in the "Union" 
service. He knew that to go with the South 
meant the loss of rank and also of his lovely 
home, Arlington, but none of these things 
moved him. His only wish was to do his duty. 
He said to Francis P. Blair, who made him the 
offer of the command, that if he owned the 
slaves in the South he would set them free in 
order to save the Union, but that he could not 
draw his sword against Virginia. When Presi- 
dent Lincoln called for troops to use against 
the Southern States, Colonel Lee gave up his 
place in the United States arnw. His soul was 
w^'ung with grief but he obeyed the call of duty. 
He offered his stainless sword to Virginia. 

At the same time, Lee wrote his w'lie : "Tell 
Custis (his eldest son) he must consult his own 
conscience as to the course he may take. I do 
not wish him to be guided by my wdshes or ex- 



44 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

ample ; if I have done wrong, let him do better. 
The present question is one which every man 
must settle for himself." 

Lee went at once to Richmond and was made 
major-general of the Virginia troops. His 
three sons also joined the Southern arm3^ In 
taking the command Lee said, ''I would have 
preferred that 3^our choice had fallen upon an 
abler man. Trusting in Almight}^ God, a good 
conscience, and the aid of my fellow-citizens, 
I devote myself to the service of m}^ native 
State, in whose behalf alone will I ever again 
draw my sword." 

Prai' rie: a vast, flat plain. 
Reg' i ment : a body of troops under a colonel. 
Sa' bers : swords with broad, curved blades. 
Se cede' : to leave. 

Trag' e dy : a play, or action, in which someone 
loses his life. 

What do you know about — 
Cavalrymen! 

Colonel Lee's life in Texas? 
The Comanche Indians? Catumseh? 
The negroes? John Brown? 
What Lee thought his duty to be? 



CHAPTEE IV 
The Confederate General 

The great War between the States at once 
began. The eleven Southern States which had 
left the Union made up the Confederate States 
of America, with Jefferson Davis as President. 
The Northern and Western States now formed 
the United States, and Abraham Lincoln was 
President. The first thought of the Northern- 
ers, or Federals, w^as to hold Washington, their 
capital cit}^ At the same time the South began 
to raise an army to defend Eichmond, wdnch 
was made the Confederate capital. 

In the Xorth a hundred thousand men joined 
the army within a few days. In the South 
the feeling was even deeper. Men rushed to 
arms from all parts of tlie country, and soldiers 
might be seen drilling everywhere. The South 
had fewer people tlian the North and mucli less 
wealth ; in the North there were eighteen million 

[45] 



46 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

white people against six million in the South. 
The Southern people had no factories or ships. 
They lacked muskets, cannon, and everything 
else needed in making war. The Xorth. with 
its many factories, soon had guns and other 
supplies in plenty. 

The Federals wore a hlue uniform : the Con- 
federates were clad in gray. The two sides are, 
therefore, spoken of as th.e Blue and the Gray. 

The war opened at Charleston. South Caro- 
hna. on April 12. 18(31. The Confederates 
Jired on Fort Sionter, in Charleston harbor, 
which was held by Federal soldiers, and took 
it after a tight of thirty-four hours. Xo one 
was hurt on either side. 

The first blood of the war was shed in Balti- 
more, on April 19, ISlU. A Massachusetts 
regiment, as it passed through the city on its 
way to Washington, was attacked by a crowd 
of men who loved the South. In the street fight 
which followed several men were killed and 
many wounded. 

In the opening months of the war. General 



48 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

Lee stayed in Eichmond, making the Confed- 
erate soldiers ready for battle. All around 
Richmond were camps where men were drilled 
and taught to fight. The largest of these camps 
was called ''Camp Lee," after the general. He 
did much to turn the great host of men into a 
trained army. 

In July, 1861, Lee was sent to take com- 
mand of the Southern troops in western Vir- 
ginia. Though the Confederates won the first 
battle of the war at Manassas (ma nas' sas) , 
things were not croln^ well for them in the 
mountains of Virginia. Heavy rains, bring- 
ing deep mud, and sickness among the soldiers 
of his small army, kept Lee from attacking the 
enemy as he had planned. At last it was 
thought best to give up western Virginia, and 
General Lee went back to Richmond. 

In November, 1861, he was sent south to 
build forts along the Georgia and South Caro- 
lina coasts. In four months' time he showed 
his i^reat skill as an enoineer, buildinof works 
which were of use throuo:li the whole war. 



50 LIFE OF ROBEET E. LEE 

In the meanwhile a great Northern army, 
mider General McClellan, had reached the 
gates of Richmond, and Lee was ordered back 
to that cit}^ to plan the movements of the armies 
of the South. A battle was fought at Seven 
Pines, near Eichmond, on May 31, 1862, in 
which Joseph E. Johnston, the general in com- 
mand of the Southern army, was badly 
wounded. General Eobert E. Lee was put in 
his place. -^ 

Lee now showed what he could do. He was 
swift in planning and as swift in acting. His 
task was a hard one. The host of the North 
w^as just outside the city of Eichmond. The 
folk on the house-tops could see the light of 
their campfires and could plainly hear the roar 
of their cannon. But McClellan held back from 
attack day after day, waiting for more soldiers 
to join him. So Lee made ready to attack 
McClellan. He began to throw up earthworks 
and placed his men for battle. Every da}^ a 
fine looking man, clad in a neat gray uniform, 
might be seen riding along the Southern lines, 



THE CONFEDEEATE GENERAL 51 

overlooking the work of his men. It was 
General Lee. 

Lee now wished to send some one to find out 
what was going on in the enemy's camp, and 
the riHit man for the task came forward. This 

o 

was J. E. B. Stuart, best known as Jeb Stuart, 
a cavalry general. He led his brave troopers 
all around the Federal army and found out 
what his chief washed to know. He w^as ever 
after this, until his death, the ^'eyes and ears' ^ 
of Lee. 

Stonewall Jackson, who had been winning 
battles in the A^alley of Virginia, came down to 
Eichmond with his brave troops, and Lee at 
once began the Seven Days' Battle, as it is 
called. For a whole week terrible fighting 
w^ent on along the Chickahominy river. This 
stream is only a few miles north of the James 
river and flows in the same direction. Lee at- 
tacked the part of the Northern army north 
of the Chickahominy at Gaines's Mill and 
drove it back. McClellan then began to fall 
back to the James river, followed hard by the 



52 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Confederates. At last he stopped at Malvern 
Hill, where Lee attacked him once more, but 
could not drive him from the steep hill covered 
with cannon. The Southern soldiers fought 
with the greatest braveiy, rushing up the hill- 
side in the very face of the guns, but they were 
driven back with heav}^ loss. The next day, 
however, McClellan I'etreated to the James 
river, where he had his gunboats to aid him. 
Eichmond had been saved by the skill of Lee 
and the valor of his men ; McClellan was very 
glad to escape with the loss of many of his 
soldiers. 

McClellan had been beaten, but another Fed- 
eral army now held the field in northern Vir- 
ginia. So Lee next marched north toward 
Washington to meet General Pope, the Federal 
commander. The Southern general made a 
bold plan to put the enemy to flight. He sent 
Stonewall Jackson on a long march of fifty-six 
miles around to the rear of Pope's army, while 
he himself prepared to attack Pope in front. 

Jackson's men marched so fast that they 




JACKSON, JOHNSTON, AND LEE 



54 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

were called the "foot cavalry." They ate 
apples and green corn fi'om the fields as they 
moved along, for they had no time to stop and 
cook meals. 'No one but their leader knew 
w4iere they were going, but little cared they, 
for they trusted Stonewall Jackson and loved 
him. 

On the evening of August 26, 1862, Jack- 
son, with twenty thousand men, was between 
Pope and Washington city. Lee meanwhile 
w^as in front of Pope with the rest of the army, 
waiting for Jackson to complete his march. 
When he reached the rear of the Federal army, 
Jackson fell on Manassas Junction, capturing 
three hundred prisoners and many car-loads of 
food and clothes. After the, hungry soldiers 
had eaten all they wanted, they burned the rest 
and marched away. 

Jackson now took up a strong position not 
far from Manassas, and when the Federal 
troops came up, he was readv for them. Pope 
attacked him on August 29, and the battle 
lasted all day. The Federals charged time after 



THE CONFEDEEATE GENERAL 55 

time, but they could not drive Jackson's men 
from their position. When the powder and 
balls gave out, the Southern soldiers fought 
with stones. • 

In the meantime 'Lee was coming to Jack- 
son's help. How eagerly through the long day 
Jackson looked for his chief! He had only 
twenty thousand men against three times that 
many. At last, late in theiafternoon, Lee came 
up with his troops and Jackson knew that the 
battle was won. 

Pope attacked again the next day (August 
30 ) , and the united forces of Lee and Jackson 
rushed forward to meet him. It was a glorious 
sight. "As far as the eye could reach, the long 
gray lines of infantry with the crimson of the 
flags gleaming like blood in the evening sun^ 
came in ordered ranks across the battlefield." 
Pope's army was driven from the field, and his 
men did not stop their retreat until they stood 
safe behind the forts at Washington. 

In three months' time Lee had won two great 
victories and changed the course of the war. 



66 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

In June, 18G2, Kichmond was in danger of 

capture; in September, Washington was in 

peril. 

It was now Lee's turn to attack the North. 
He crossed the Potomac river into Maryland, 
hoping to find supphes and new soldiers in that 
State. He hoped also to win a battle which 
might end the war. 

He sent Jackson to Harper's Ferry, where 
the Confederates captured twelve thousand 
Northern soldiers and vast supplies. Jackson 
then hurried to join Lee, who had taken up a 
position on the north bank of the Potomac river. 

Here, at Sharpsburg, or Antietam (an te' 
tam) , as it is often called, Lee again met 
McClellan's army in one of the most bloody 
battles of the war. The Southern leader had 
less than half as many men as McClellan. All 
da}^ long the Northern host pressed forward to 
the attack, only to fall back before the fire of 
the Southern line. Night found Lee still hold- 
ing his position, though many of his men had 
fallen. In some places the dead lay in long 



68 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

lines, as if the soldiers were sleeping on their 

arms. 

After the battle Lee thouglit it best to return 
to Virginia, and McClellan did not follow him. 
The Southern army crossed the river without 
the loss of a gun or a wagon and rested near 
Winchester in the Valle}^ of Virginia. 

At the battle of Sharpsburg, a bo}^ mounted 
as a driver of horses pulling a cannon passed 
by General Lee. ''Are 3^ou going to send us in 
again, General?" asked the youth, whose face 
was stained all over with powder. Lee said 
that he was, and then, struck by the lad's voice, 
but not recognizing him, said, "Whose son are 
you r "Why, I'm Eobbie," said the boy. He 
was indeed General Lee's youngest son who 
was serving as a private soldier and bearing 
his' full share of the hardships of war. Lee 
might have given him high rank, but he cliose 
to make the young soldier win his way without 
favor. 

Li his tent near Winchester, Lee heard' of 
the death of his daughter Annie. She had been 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 59 

his dearest child, and his grief was great. But 
lie wrote thus to Mrs. Lee: ''God in this, as 
in all things, has mingled mercy with the blow 
in selecting the one best prepared to leave us. 
May you be able to join me; in saying, 'His will 
be done!'" 

It was now McClellan's timx to attack. But 
he was slow to move — so slow that Pi'esident 
Lincoln sent him word to "cross the Potomac 
and give battle to the foe, and drive him south." 
As McClellan still did not move, Lee, who 
wished to fight again, sent Jeb Stuart over into 
Maryland to find out what he was doing. 
Stuart for a second time rode around the whole 
N'orthern army and came back safe to Virginia, 
having found out what Lee wished to learn. 

The Northern arni}^ a little later recrossed 
into Virginia. Lee moved his army from the 
Valley to Fredericksburg, on the Eappahan- 
nock river. General Burnside was now put 
at the head of the Federal army in place of 
McClellan, whom President Lincoln thought 
too slow. 



60 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Burnside at once marched toward Richmond. 
Lee placed his men on the heights above the 
Rappahannock, on the south side, ^Yhile Burn- 
side's host held the hills on the northern side. 
His cannon were posted so as to sweep the river 
and the plain beyond it. 

Burnside' s cannon fired on the town of 
Fredericksburg for a wdiole day to drive out 
the Southern soldiers. Cooke, a great writer, 
tells us that the houses w^ere soon on fire and 
a dense cloud of smoke hung over the roofs 
and steeples. Soon the red flames leaped up 
high above the smoke, and the people had to 
leave their homes. Hundreds of women and 
children wandered along the frozen roads, not 
knowing where to go. 

The Northern troops crossed the river on 
bridges of boats. At da3diglit on December 13, 
1862, tlie battle began and was fought bravely 
by both sides. But Burnside's men had little 
chance, for thev had to charge against the 
heights held by the Southern soldiers, w^ho 
poured shot and shell into their ranks. 




LEE AT FREDERICKSBURG 



62 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

"On tliey came," says an eye-witness, "as if 
on parade, their ba^^onets shining in the bright 
simligiit. On they came, waving their hun- 
dreds of Hags, which gave color to the dark 
blue columns of men and the brown winter 
landscape." The columns were broken and 
driven back with slaughter. When night came, 
thirteen thousand Xorthern soldiers lay dead or 
wounded on the plain. 

General Lee stood on a ridge, which is now 
called "Lee's Hill," and watched the scene. I'or 
a long time he was silent, gazing on the mass 
of men below him, and then he said in his deep, 
grave voice : "It is well that war is so terrible, 
or else we might grow too fond of it." 

Two nights later the Federal army retreated 
across the Rappahannock while a storm was 
raging. 

Fredericksburg was one of the worst defeats 
suffered by the Xortli in the war. It made the 
Southern people and the soldiers love and ad- 
mire Lee more tlian ever. In less than six 
months he had fought four o-rcat battles — all 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 63 

victories except Sharpsburg, which was neither 
a victory nor a defeat. The Southern army was 
fiih of hope and courage. At Fredericksburg 
it had numbered only sixty thousand men, while 
Burnside had had more than a hundred thou- 
sand. Lee had lost five thousand men, less than 
half as many as the enemy. 

Lee grieved over the loss of his brave men, 
and foi; the good people of Fredericksburg, 
whose homes had been burned during the fight. 
He waited day after day for Burnside to attack 
again, but in vain. Burnside stayed on his side 
of the Eappahannock. At length Lee went 
into winter quarters in a tent at the edge of an 
old pine field near Fredericksburg. He was 
busy in getting ready to fight new battles when 
spring came. 

It was about this time that the general found 
a new pet. One day a number of chickens 
were sent to supply his table. Among them 
was a fine hen, which laid an egg before her 
head could be, taken off. The next day she laid 
another egg. Bryan, Lee's servant, saved her 



64 LIFE OF ROBEKT E. LEE 

for the egg she laid each day m the general's 
tent. Lee would leave the door of the tent open 
for her to o^o in and out. 




GENERAL LEE'S HEN 

When the army moved, the pet hen roosted 
and rode on a wagon, and was an eye-whness 
of the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettys- 
burg. After the latter fight, she could not be 
found when orders were given for the return 
march. But at last she was seen perched on a 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 65 

wagon, ready to go back to her native State. 
In 1864, when food began to grow more scarce 
and Bryan had nothing to set before guests, he 
killed the hen without tellhig Gleneral Lee. At 
dinner the general said that it was a very fine 
fowl, never dreaming that Biyan had killed 
his pet. 

Earty in 1863 Lee carried out his father-in- 
law's will. The slaves that Mr. Custis had 
owned were set free. Many of them had been 
carried oft' by Northern soldiers, yet Lee wrote 
out the deed and freed them by law. He had 
freed his own negroes years before and he 
never again was the master of a slave. 

The hopes of the Southern people rose high 
as the warm days came back in the spring of 
1863. They had found a great leader in Lee,, 
who had proved too much for the Northern 
generals. It is true that there was want in the. 
Confederate army, but the men were cheerful. 
One half of the soldiers were in rags, and many 
were without shoes. Yet shoeless, hatless, 
ragged and starving, they followed Lee and 



C6 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

fought his battles. Their pet name for him was 
''Marse Eobert." They knew that their great 
chief cared for them and would not send them 
into danger if he could help it. It was no fault 
of his that their food was scant and poor. They 
had learned to love and trust him. "Marse 
Eobert says so" was their battle-cry. 

Con fed' er ate : a Southern soldier in the War 
between the States. 

Fed' er al : a Northern soldier in the same war. 

Gal' lant : brave ; daring in fight. 

Mer' cy : goodness ; kindness. 

Po si' tion: place, as a place held by an army in 
a battle. 

Pres' i dent : the head of a free people. 

Tell about— 

The two governments. 

The first gun fired. 

The first blood shed. 

Camp Lee. 

Where General Lee was first sent. 

Job Stuart. Stonewall Jackson. 

The Seven Days' Battle. 

The Second Battle of Manassas. 

Sharpsburg. Fredericksburg. 

The will of Mr. Custis. 

The soldiers' love for Lee. 



CHAPTER V 
The Confederate General 

When the spring of 1863 came, the two 
armies were still in sight of each other on the 
opposite banks of the Eappahannock river near 
Fredericksburg. A new man, General Hooker, 
sometimes called ''Fighting Joe," had been put 
at the head of the Northern arn\y. He was the 
fourth general that President Lincoln had sent 
against Lee. 

Hooker's plan was to slip around Lee and 
get between him and Richmond. In this case 
Richmond would be taken, and the war might 
end then and there. To carn^ out his plan, 
Hooker crossed the Rappahannock with the 
main part of his army, twelve miles above 
Fredericksburg. The rest was left in front of 
the town to hold Lee there. But Lee was not 
fooled. He had watched his new foe, had 
found out his plans, and was ready for him. 

[07] 



68 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Hooker took up his position at Cl^aucellorsville 

near the river, .tee, in the midst of a cW 

forest, the battle was fought on May 2-4, 18bo 
Lee's plan of battle Nvas to send Stonewall 
Jackson around Hooker's army to attack hnn 
in the rear. Lee was to stay in front of Chan- 
cellorsviUe with the rest of his men, to keep the 
Federals from learning of Jackson's move. 

Earlv in the morning of May 2, 1863, Jack- 
son started on his march around Hooker. The 
day broke without a cloud, a perfect spring 
morning in the woods. The soldiers hurried 
on, knowing that some great plan was being 
carried out. General Lee stood on the road- 
side and watched them pass. Soon Jackson 
came along with his staff and reined in Ins horse 
beside Lee. The two generals talked together 
for a few minutes, after which Jackson rode on 
his way. This was the last meeting of Lee and 

Jackson. 

Jackson's men marched through the forest 
so swiftly and with so little noise that they came 
on Hooker's troops without being seen or heard. 




THE LAST MEETING OF LEE AND JACKSON 



70 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

The Northern soldiers were cooking supper 
when the gray-jackets rushed like a thunder- 
bolt out of the woods and swept down on them. 
After a brief fight, they turned and fled. 

It was now nearly dark and Jackson rode 
forward to view the field. As he was return- 
ing he was shot by his own men. In the dim 
light they thought that he and his aids were a 
troop of :N'orthern cavalry. Jackson was 
struck in three places — in his right hand and 
twice in the left arm. He was placed in a litter 
and carried from the field. All care was taken 
of the great and good soldier, but he died a 
w^eek later. His last words were: ''Order 
A. P. Hill to prepare for action. Pass the in- 
fantry to the front. Tell Major Hawkes"— he 
stopped and then said, ''Let us pass over the 
river and rest in the shade of the trees." Thus 
died the famous Stonewall Jackson, the "right 
arm of Lee." 

Tor two days after Jackson was wounded, 
the fight raged with great fury. General 
Hooker was struck by a piece of wood split 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 71 

off by a cannon ball and for a time was thought 
to be dead. 

Jeb Stuart took Jackson's place. He led his 
men into battle singing "Old Joe Hooker, 
won't you come out of the wilderness?" At 
last the bloody battle of Chancellorsville was 
won by the Southern soldiers, and Hooker's 
army w^as forced across the river to its old camp. 

Chancellorsville was Lee's greatest battle, 
but its glor}^ was clouded by Jackson's death. 
Lee wrote to his wife on May 11, 1863 : ''You 
will see that we have to mourn the loss of the 
good and great Jackson. I know not how to 
replace him, but God's will be done." 

In this battle Lee had onty fifty-three thou- 
sand men, one-third as many as Hooker. All 
the same he had won a great victor} . 

In June, 1863, Lee again crossed the Poto- 
mac. He had two reasons for this move. One 
was to get food for his men and horses; the 
otlier was to draw the Northern arni}^ from its 
strong forts around Washington city and de- 
feat it. 



72 LIFE OF ROBEKT E. LEE 

Lee gave strict orders to his men not to rob 
and injure the people of the Xorth. A part of 
one of his orders reads: "The general thinks 
that no greater disgrace could befall an army 
than to harm the innocent and defenseless. . . . 
It must be remembered that we make war onl}^ 
upon armed men/' 

This order, in its noble, Christ-like spirit, 
will remain the "und^dng glory of Lee," for 
all his property had been taken by the Federals. 
His wife and daughters were homeless, yet he 
did not fail to return good for evil. The South- 
ern soldierS; in the enemy's country, troubled 
no peaceful folk and did no harm to the fields 
and homes. 

When Lee moved into Maryland, he sent 
Jeb Stuart on ahead to guard the right flank of 
his army and gain news of the foe. By some 
mishap, Stuart crossed the Potomac too far to 
the east and soon found the whole Federal army 
between Lee and himself. By hard riding and 
fighting, he at last joined Lee at Gettysburg, 
but not until the battle was half over. Thus 




STONEWALL JACKSON 



74 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

Lee had been left without his ''eyes and ears," 
as we have called General Stuart, and did not 
know where the foe was. Xeither he nor 
Meade, the new Northern general who had 
taken Hooker's place, wished to fight at Gettys- 
burg ; the}' fell upon each other much like two 
men groping in the dark. 

The first two da^^s of the battle, July 1 and 
2, 18G3, Lee's soldiers drove back the Federals. 
The Northern army, however, held a strong 
ridge south of Gettysburg, covered with can-^ 
non. Lee had to drive them from these hills to 
win the battle. 

On the third day, at one o'clock in the after- 
noon, Lee opened fire on the enemy's line with 
one hundred and fifty cannon. For two hours 
the air was alive with shells and the earth 
rocked with the noise. Then the Confederate 
battle line, more than a mile long, swept out 
toward the enenw. It was commanded by three 
generals, Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble. A 
thrill of wonder ran through the Federal army 
as the grand colunm of fifteen thousand men 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL T5 

came up the slope of Cemetery Eidge witli its 
red battle-flags flying. Soon the gmis began 
to blaze alono^ the whole Northern line and 
great gaps were torn in the attacking column. 
When it drew nearer, the Federal foot soldiers 
rose and poured their fire in the faces of the 
Confederates, but the gray Hne still kept on. 

The column was broken, yet it did not stop. 
The Southerners reached the breastworks, took 
them with the bayonet, and planted their flags 
on them. Eor a moment the fate of the battle 
hung in doubt. But no other soldiers came to 
help the Confederates, while thousands of Fed- 
erals rushed down the hill and fell on them. 
They were forced back by weight of numbers. 
Most of those who were not killed or wounded 
were taken prisoner; few got back to tell the 
story. Lee's orders had not been carried out 
and, for the first time, he had been foiled. He 
had planned to attack early the day before, 
but there was a delay; thus Meade was given 
time to bring up great numbers of fresh troops. 

When night came after the great battle, the 



T6 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

stars looked down upon a field covered with 
dead and dying men, and also upon a sad gen- 
eral. Lee took the blame of the failure on Inm- 
self, though it was not his fault. He afterward 
said to a friend, "If I had had Stonewall Jack- 
son at Gettysburg, I would have won a great 
victory.'' 

All day after the battle, Lee waited for a 
Federal attack ; but none was made. As he had 
but little powder and shot left, he thought it 
wise to return to Virginia. After burying the 
dead, Lee was ready to move. 

In a storm of wind and rain, Lee's army 
started homeward. There were long trains of 
w^ounded and prisoners, and the march was- 
slow. At last the army I'eached the Potomac 
river to find it too high to ford. Calm and 
brave, Lee sent his wounded over in boats and 
made ready for Meade. But Meade was in no 
mood to attack; he came up slowly. In the 
meantime the river ha d been falling. On July 1 3 
the Confederates began to cross the river, and 
bv the next nidit they were safe in Yirmnia. 




LEE ON TRAVELLER AT BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 



78 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

It was during this retreat that Lee heard of the 

capture of his son, General W. H. F. Lee. 

The battle of Gettysburg is looked on as the 
greatest of the war. The Southern army did 
not lose heart because it had failed to win a 
victory, but the men killed there could not be 
replaced. The South had sent forth all her 
fighting men and had no more to give. 

The rest of 1863 passed without another 
great battle. Lee's chief care was to get food 
for his men and watch Meade, who would not 
attack liim. About this time the city of Eich- 
mond made Lee a present of a house. This lie 
kindly but firmly refused to take: he begged 
that such means as the city might have to spare 
be given to the families of poor soldiers. 

Late in Xovember, Meade advanced toward 
Lee, who had built strong forts at Mine Eun 
near the Eapidan river. Meade, finding the 
forts too strono" to attack, withdrew in the nio-ht 
without fighting. 

The beginning of 1864 found the South 
facino' a doomv future. The armv was smaller 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 79 

tlian before and in need of eveiy thing; the 
Northern army was larger than ever and well- 
fed and well-clad. Still another general was 
sent against Lee. This was Ulysses S. Grant, 
who had won some great victories in the West 
and was now in command of all the Xorthern 
armies. The North felt that it had at last found 
a general who could beat Lee. 

Grant's army numbered one hundred and 
twenty-five thousand men. A wagon train 
sixty-five miles long was needed to carry sup- 
plies for this great host. To oppose it Lee had 
onlv sixty-two thousand soldiers. But Lee's 
men trusted him as of old and looked forward 
to new victories. 

With his great aimy, Grant crossed the Eap- 
idan river and moved foi*^'ard to give battle. 
Lee, however, did not wait for Grant; he ad- 
vanced and met the Northern army in a place 
called the Wilderness. This was a vast forest 
full of tangled underbrush, and with only a few 
narrow roads runnino^ throuo-h it here and 
there. It was a bad place for a battle, for no 



80 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

man could see more than a few yards aromid 
him. It suited Lee to fight here because the 
thick woods made Grant's cannon and horse- 
men of no use, while it was hard for hun to 
move his masses of foot soldiers. 

Grant did not know that Lee's men were so 
near. But when they attacked him in the forest,, 
he had to give battle. For two days, May 5 
and 6, 1864, nearh^ two hmidred thousand sol- 
diers in blue and orav fouoht breast to breast 
in the thickets. Men fell and died miseen, their 
bodies lost in the bushes and their groans; 
drowned in the roar of battle. 

In the midst of the struggle, the woods, 
caught on fire and many of the wounded were 
bunied alive. At the close of the first day's, 
battle, Lee had taken a part of the enemy's, 
breastworks and had struck Grant a heavy 
blow. He was in great danger himself, how- 
ever, for Longstreet with a part of the army 
had not j^et reached tlie field. Without it, Lee's' 
amw was too small to hold its own against the 
Northern host. 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 81 

The battle began again at daylight on May 
6. The Federals charged, and for a time 
pressed Lee hard. At last Longstreet's men 
came on the field, hm'rying forward against 
the foe. As some troops from Texas passed 




LEE TO THE REAR ! 



Lee, he put himself at their head to lead the 
charge. "Hurrah for Texas!" he cried. But 
the soldiers, fearing for their general, began to 
shout, ''Lee to the rear!" A gray-haired Texan 
seized his bridle, saying, "General Lee, if you 
do not go back, we will not go forward!" So 



82 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

Lee reined in his horse and the brave Texans 

swept on to victory. 

Grant's army was at last driven back with 
terrible loss, and it seemed as if he were about 
to suffer a great defeat. At this moment Long- 
street was wounded by the fire of his own 
men, just as Jackson had been a year before, 
and the Confederates halted. Night found 
Grant still holdino- his o-round; but his armv 
had been badly shaken and had dug new breast- 
works for shelter. 

On the morning of May 7, both Grant and 
Lee failed to attack. That night Grant marched 
toward Spotsylvania Courthouse, hoping to get 
between Lee and Richmond. But Lee guessed 
his plan and began to move his army rapidly. 
When the front of Grant's army came to the 
courthouse next morning, it found Lee's men 
behind breastworks ready to fight. Lee still 
stood between Grant and Richmond. By even- 
ing the two armies faced each other along the 
Po river. Here the breastworks they threw up 
may yet be seen. 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 83 

For twelve days Grant made attack after 
attack on Lee's breastworks. At firs^t he w^as 
beaten oft' with great loss. But early in the 
morning of May 12, his masses tore a hole in 
Lee's line and came pouring through by thou- 
sands. The Confederates behind the broken 
first line ran forward to check the Federals and 
a most terrible fight took place. So heavy was 
the firing that trees w^re cut down by bullets 
alone. The trenches ran with blood, and the 
dead and wounded were piled high on one an- 
other. Though Grant held Lee's first line, he 
could not break through the second. The little 
army in gray stood as firm as the momitains, 
barring his way. 

Early in this figlit, when the Southern army 
was for a time in great danger. General Lee 
again rode to the front to lead the charge. 
Genei-al Gordon of Georgia, dashing up, said 
to him: 

'These are Virginians and Georgians who 
have never failed you. Go to the rear. Gen- 
eral Lee." 



8-i LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Then Gordon said to the men, ''Must General 
Lee lead this charge?" 

"No, no!" they cried; "we will drive them 
back if General Lee will go to the rear." 

With the cry of "Lee to the rear," they 
rushed on and drove back the Federai troops. 

While the battle raged, Grant had sent his 
cavalry general, Sheridan, on a raid toward 
I^ichmond. A fierce battle was fought at Yel- 
low Tavern, in which Jeb Stuart was so badly- 
wounded that he died the next day. Alas far 
Lee ! Jackson and Stuart were now both gone. 

Grant again turned to the left, trying to get 
between Lee and Eichmond. Lee moved to the 
North Anna river to block him. While Grant 
was once more trying to flank him, Lee took 
position at Cold Harbor, where one of tlie 
fights of the Seven Days' Battle had been 
fought two 3'ears before. 

'Grant attacked at daylight. But his men 
were shot down by thousands and could not 
reach the Southern breastworks. Lee's loss was 
small. A second attack was ordered, but the 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 85 

IN^orthern troops wouUr not move forward. 
About thirteen thousand of them had been 
killed or wounded in less than an hour, and they 
could no longer stand the awful fire. 

We are told by Gleneral Fitzhugh Lee that 
the Confederates were hungry and mad. One 
cracker to a man, with no meat, was a luxury 
for the soldiers. A poor fellow who had his 
cracker shot out of his hand before he could 
eat it, said, 'The next time I'll put my cracker 
in a safe place down by the breastworks where 
it won't get wounded, poor thing!" 

So ended the famous battles from the Wilder- 
ness to Cold Harbor. Grant had lost about 
sixty thousand men; Lee about twenty thou- 
sand. Grant had failed, too, in his effort to 
pass Lee and reach Eichmond. After a month 
of terrible slaughter, he had gone foi*^ ard for 
some miles, and that was all he had gained. 
What should he do next? 

Wliile Lee and Grant were facing each other 
on the Xorth Anna, another Federal general, 
Sigel, had moved up the Valley of Virginia. It 



86 LIFE OF ROBEKT E. LEE 

was his part in Grant's plan to cross the moun- 
tains and come east to attack Lee's flank. But 
Sigel was met at Ne^-market, on May 15, 1864, 
hy General Breckenridge, with five thousand 
troops ; among them was a band of cadets from 
the Virginia Mihtary Institute at Lexington. 
These boys fought hke heroes, fifty of them 
being killed or wounded. Sigel was sent hurry- 
ing back down the Valley and Breckenridge 
marched to the help of Lee. 

Grant's next move was his best. He feared 
to attack Lee again and he could not get around 
him. So during the night of June 12, 1864, 
his army began to cross the James river and 
to march toward Petersburg, a city twenty-one 
miles south of Eichmond. The railroads which 
ran into Eichmond from the south passed 
through Petersburg. B}^ capturing this place, 
therefore. Grant would cut off Eichmond from 
the Southern States and it would fall. 

General Beauregard (bo' regard) held 
Petersburg with about two thousand men. On 
June 15, Grant attacked the handful with eigh- 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 87 

teen thousand troops. Beauregard, however, 
held this force in check until aid reached him. 
Lee soon came to his help with his arm^^ Grant, 
having lost ten thousand men, began to dig 
trenches and build forts to protect his soldiers 
while he laid siege to Petersburg, the key to 
Eichmond. 

Lee had to defend both Richmond and 
Petersburg, with lines thirty-five miles long, 
against Grant's army, twice the size of his own. 
In fact. Grant had all the men he called for, 
while Lee's ranks were thin and the soldieri^ 
he lost could not be replaced. His men were 
starving, too. A small scrap of bacon and a 
little flour or meal was all that each soldier had 
as a day's ration. 

In this stress it is said that Lee thought it 
would be best to give up Eichmond and go 
South to join the Confederate army there. We 
do not know the tmth of this. At any rate, he 
did not go, but set to work to make his lines 
stronger and to find food for his soldiers. One 
of his great cares was to keep Grant from get- 



88 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

ting hold of the raih-oads which brought sup- 
plies to his army from Georgia and other parts 
of the South. 

Food and all other things were now very 
scarce in the country. Prices rose to a point 
never dreamed of before. Elour sold for two 
hundred and fifty dollars a barrel; meal, fifty 
dollars;" corn, forty; oats, twent^^-five dollars 
a bushel. Brown sugar cost ten dollars a 
pound; coffee, twelve dollars; tea, thirty-five 
— and such things were hard to get at these 
prices. Calico sold at thirty dollars a yard, 
and lead pencils at a dollar apiece. Women 
w^ore dresses made of cloth spun, woven, and 
dyed by their own hands. Thorns were used 
for pins and hairpins, and shoes were made 
wath wooden soles. Hats were plaited out of 
wheat straw and sewed into slia])e. In spit(^ 
of the hard times, however, the Southern people 
did not lose courage. All food that could be 
spared was sent to Eichmond for the army. 

Time after tune Grant made attacks on Lee's 
w^orks, but in vain. The shells from Grant's 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 89 

big giins fell in the city of Petersburg, bursting 
in the streets and making the people flee for 
their lives. 

One day as General Lee was sitting on a 
chair under a tree at his headquarters, the bul- 
lets flew so thickly about him that his aids 
begged him to seek a safer place. At last he 
mounted his horse and rode away. A moment 
later a gay 3^oung soldier sat down in his chair 
and tilted it back, saying, ''I'll see if I can fill 
Lee's j)lace for a while." Just then a buUet 
struck the front round of the chair and cut it 
in two. If Lee had remained in the chair with- 
out tilting it, he might have been badly hurt. 
All thanked God for his escape. 

On June 22, 1864, the Confederates under 
General Mahone made a sally from their 
trenches and gave the Federals a great surprise. 
The latter fled back to their lines, and the Con- 
federates brought off two thousand prisoners, 
four cannon and eight flags. On the same day 
there was a cavalry fight at Eeams's Station. 
The !N"orthern horsemen were put to flight, with 



90 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

the loss of twelve guns and one thousand men. 

In the meantime Grant was building earth- 
works and forts and trying various plans to beat 
Lee. From a place in his own lines he had a 
tunnel dug until it reached under one of the 
Confederate forts. The end of this hole was 
filled with a blast of eight thousand pounds of 
powder. His plan was to blow a hole in Lee's 
earthworks and then rush in with a large body 
of troops and take Petersburg. 

Lee knew that the Federals w^ere digging the 
mine and had a line made in the rear of his 
trenches. Cannon were placed here so as to 
fire across the breach when the mine went off. 
At this time there were only thirteen thousand 
men in the trenches at Petersburg. Lee had 
been forced to send some of his troops to the 
north of the James river to check a move which 
Grant was making on purpose to draw off his 
forces from the mine. 

At dawn on July 30, 1864, the blast of pow- 
der was fired. There was a great roar and three 
hundred Southern soldiers, with masses of 



92 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

earth, stones and logs, were thrown high in the 
air. X great hole one hundred and thirty-five 
feet long, ninety feet wide and thirty feet deep 
had been made in the ground where the Con- 
federate fort stood. Those near the spot were 
stimned by the slioek. 

Grant's cannon at once opened fire all along 
the hue, and bodies of troops, waiting behind 
the Federal breastworks, rushed into the gap. 
They found a deep pit at their feet and halted. 
B}^ this time the Confederates had gained their 
wits and began to fire. The storm of shot and 
shell foi'ced the Federals down into the pit, or 
crater, for shelter. Body after body of them, 
sent forward to the charge, lialted in the crater 
or ran back to their own lines. 

Two hours had passed and the Xortliern 
troops still crowded the crater, where the Con- 
federate fire played on tliem. N'egro soldiers 
were now sent forward in great numbers. The}^ 
came on bravely until the}^ felt the full fire of 
the Southern guns ; then they, too, huddled in 
the pit. The crater was filled with a tangled 



thp: confederate general 93 
mass of wounded and struggling men, upon 
whom the shot kept on pouring. 

General Lee at length reached the spot. By 
his orders, General Mahone charged the Fed- 
erals, who had just begun to move forward 
from the crater. There was a fierce hand-to- 
hand fight, but the Federals were quickly 
forced back. All honor is due the handful of 
men who so bravely held the breach until help 
came ! 

At last a white flag went up from the crater, 
showing that there were soldiers still alive in 
the pit and that they were willing to give up. 

In the ''Battle of the Crater," Grant lost about 
five thousand men and Lee perhaps a fifth as 
manv. The pluck and skill of Lee and a few 
of his troops had upset Grant's well-laid plan 
and showed wliat these heroes could yet do after 
years of toil and l)attle. 

Lee now thought tliat he would send soldiers 
to threaten Washington. In this way he miglit 
force Grant to move troops to aid the capital 
and o^ive him a chance to hurl back the Federal 



94 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

host from Eichmond. So lie sent General Earlv 
down the Valley of A^irginia mto Mar^^land 
with only ten thousand men. 

They marched swiftly, and on July 9, 1864, 
met General Lew Wallace at Monocacy Bridge. 
After beating Wallace and taking from him 
tw^o thousand men, Early marched on to Wash- 
ington. On July 10, his troops made thirty 
miles and on Juty 11 were in front of Wash- 
ington. But his force was too small and too 
much w^orn out to attack the great forts around 
the city. He coolh^ waited in front of Wash- 
ington all day, and at night, after a fight with 
Federals sent out to attack him, went back to 
Virginia. 

This raid of Early's did not move Grant. 
He left President Lincoln to take care of Wash- 
ington, keeping most of his men massed in front 
of Lee's lines. 

A little later the Federal general Sheridan 
passed up the Valley after Earh% doing great 
harm to tlie country. He burned two thousand 
barns filled with wheat and hav and seventy 



THE COXFEDERATE GENERAL 95 

mills full of flour. He also drove off and killed 
four thousand head of cattle. His boast was 
that "if a crow wants to fly down the VaUey, 
he must carry his food along." 

This was a part of the plan to starve and 
crush Lee. Much of the flour and wheat w^liich 
fed the army came from the Valley. On 
August 18, 1864, Grant at last got hold of the 
Weldon railroad which brought supplies from 
the South. Its loss was another great blow 
to Lee. 

In the fall of the year, wdien meat was very 
scarce in the Southern army. General Wade 
Hampton of South Carolina learned that a 
large drove of beeves was in the rear of Grant's 
lines. He asked Lee to give him leave to take 
some of his horsemen and try to drive out the 
cattle. Lee at last told him to go, but urged 
him to take great care not to be caught. 

The cavalry started early and w^ere w^ll on 
their way when day broke. They rode on until 
dark, when they halted in a road overhung by 
the branches of trees. Here they slept. Just 



96 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

at dawn they sprang to their saddles and with 
the well-known Southern 3TII rushed into the 
camp of the foe. The Federals made a good 
fight for their meat, but at last fell back; the 
Confederates captured and drove out more than 
two thousand beeves. These they brought 
safely to camp, after having two fights and rid- 
ing one hundred miles. The meat was a great 
treat to Lee's men and the cause of much fun. 

Lee's lines were so close to Grant's in some 
places that the men would often call across to 
each other from the trenches. The Federals 
nicknamed the Confederates Johmiy Kebs, 
while the Confederate name for the Federals 
was Billy Yanks. On the day after the beef 
raid, one of Grant's men called out: 

''I say, Johnny Reb, come over. I've got a 
new blue suit for 3"ou." 

"Blue suit ?" growled Johnny. 

"Yes," said the Federal; "take off those 
greasy butternut clothes. I would if I were 
you." 

"jS^ever you mind the grease, Billy Yank,'^ 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 97 

drawled the Confederate. ''I got that oufii 
them beeves o yoiirn!^ 

Pop ! went the Federal's gun, and the Con- 
federate was not slow to pop back at him. 

As fall passed into winter, General Lee's life 
was more and more filled with care. Xo sooner 
was one attack on his lines over than another 
began, and his army was daih^ growing thinner. 
He lived in a tent and went down to the 
trenches himself to see how his men were get- 
ting on. 

An old soldier says that the general came into 
the trenches one day when the firing was quite 
rapid. The men dared not cheer lest they draw 
a hotter fire from the foe, but they crowded 
around him and begged him to go back. He 
calmly asked after their health and spoke words 
of hope. Then he walked over to a big gun 
and told the heutenant to fire, so that he might 
see its range and work. The officer said, with 
tears in liis eyes, ''General, don't order me to 
fire this gun while you are here. The enemy 
will open fire over there with all those big guns 



<)S LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

and you will surely get hurt. Oo back out of 
range and I will lire all day." Lee was greatly 
touched by this and went back, when the men 
quickly lired the huge gun. 




WAR MAP OT VIRGi:>IA 



The winter of lSt34-"t35 was a sad one for 
Lee and the Soutli. The general needed not 
only more troops, but food for those he had. 
Many soldiei-s died from cold and want : there 
were no men in the land to take their places. 
The corn and wheat of the South had been 



THE COXFEDEEATE GENERAL 99 

burned and the cattle killed by the Xortliern 
armies. The people sat down to empty tables 
and had no food to send their soldiers. 

Mrs. Lee, in her sick chair in Eichmond^ 
"with large heart and small means," knit socks, 
which she sent to the barefooted men in the 
arnw. On January 10, 1865, General Lee 
wrote her: 

"Yesterday three little girls walked into my 
room, each with a small basket. The eldest had 
some fresh eggs, the second some pickles, and 
the third some popcorn, which had grown in 
her garden. . . . They had with them a young 
maid with a block of soap made by her mother. 
They were the daughters of a Mrs. Xottingham, 
a refugee from Xorthampton county. ... I 
had not had so nice a visit for a long time. I 
was able to fill their baskets with apples, and 
begged them to bring me nothing hereafter but 
kisses, and to keep the eggs, corn, etc., for 
themselves," 

Li his rare visits to Eichmond in wartime,. 
General Lee greatly enjoyed a glimpse of his. 



100 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

family. He would cast aside his cares and 
amuse himself by teasmg Mrs. Lee. He often 
called her "Miss Mary," and would sometimes 
laughing speak to his daughters as ''Miss Mil- 
dred," or ''Miss Agnes." "Miss Mary," he 
would say to Mrs. Lee, "why don't you wear 
your dresses longer, as is the fashion? I look 
at the prett}^ girls in town, and they all wear 
their dresses long. If you don't lengthen yours, 
I shall have to walk with the pretty girls." 

By the spring Lee's men were ragged and 
starving and there were now far fewer of them 
than ever. On April 1, 1865, at Five Forks, 
the left wing of Grant's great army swept 
around the right of Lee's lines and made him 
give up Eichmond and Petersburg. He now 
tried to march south to join General Joseph E. 
Johnston. 

While the Southern troops were leaving 
Eichmond, the warehouses in the city were set 
on fire to keep them from falling into the hands 
of the foe. The fire spread, and Mrs. Lee's 
house was in danger of being burned. Friends 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 101 
came in to move her to a place of safety, but 
she did not wish to go. The fire had no terror 
for her, for she thought of her husband with 
his army of starving men marching with their 
''faces turned from Eichmond." While the 
fire was raging, the Federal army, with waving 
flags and sounding music, marched into the city 
and stacked arms in the grounds of the Capitol 
Square. 

In the meantime, Lee was moving toward 
•Amelia Courthouse. He had ordered meat and 
bread for his men to be sent to this place on 
trains. But when he got to Amelia, he found 
that the trains had been sent elsewhere. Now 
real want set in for his army. The men had 
nothing to eat but corn, which they would parch 
at night and eat as they marched along the 
next day. 

Lee's plan was to march south and join Gen- 
eral Johnston, but time had been lost in trying 
to get food, and Grant's hosts were near at 
hand. Lee kept on falling back toward Lynch- 
burg, but at last he found Grant's vast army all 



102 LIFE OF EOBFKT E. LEE 

aroiiiul hiiii. Piiuliiig tliat he eoiild not escape, 
he surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court- 
house, on April 0, ISIk""). Lee had only cioht 
thousmul men with him under arms, while the 
Xorthern army numhered about tiro hundred 
thousand. 

In this way the great war ended. In all these 
battles of which you have been told. General 
Lee had not been really defeated : but he had to 
give up at last Weause he had no more men 
and no more food. The Xorthern generals 
were given all the men and food they asked for, 
as the Xorth had the w hole earth to draw from. 
The Soutli was shut ot! from the rest of the 
world by Northern warships; thus it could not 
get suppHes or other help from outside lands. 
Ltv did all that genius and courage coidd do 
against heavy odds : he was, without doubt, the 
greatest commander of his time. 

Colonel Tenable, an officer of Lee's staff. 
Siiys: '*^Vlien I told General Lee that the 
troops in front were not able to fight their way 
out, he said, 'Then, there is nothing left for me 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 103 
but to go and see General Grant, and I would 
rather die a thousand deaths.' " 

Another officer says that when Lee was 
thinking of surrender he exclaimed, "How 
easily I could get rid of all this and be at rest I 
I have onty to ride along the lines and all will 
he over. But," he added quickly, ''it is our 
duty to live, for what will become of the women 
and children of the South, if w^e are not here 
to support and protect them?" 

Some of the officers spoke out against sur- 
render: ''Oh! General, what will they say of 
us?" they asked. 

"Yes, I know they will say hard things of 
us," Lee replied. ^'They will not understand 
how we were overwhelmed by numbers, but 
that is not the question. The question is, is it 
rigid to surrender this army. If it is right, I 
will do it." 

So, with a heart bursting with grief, he once 
more did his dutv. He arranored a meetino- 
wdth General Grant in order to make terms of 
surrender. 



104 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

Grant was kind to Lee and his men. These 
gave up their firearms, but all who had horses 
were allowed to take them home "to work their 
little farms." Grant did not ask for Lee's 
sword, nor did Lee offer it to him; Lee's men 
w^ere not required to stack their guns between 
ranks of Federals, with flags flying and bands 
playing. The soldiers simply went to places 
pointed out to them and laid down their guns. 
The officers then signed a parole not to flght 
against the United States. All were then free 
to go back to their homes, which in some cases 
had been burned ; ruin and want were on every 
side. 

Grant did not go to Lee's camp or to Rich- 
mond to exult over the men who had so often 
met him in battle. He rode back to Wasliing- 
ton with his staff soon after the surrender. 
Before going, he sent Lee a large quantity of 
rations for his men, who had liad nothing to eat 
for sometime but parched corn. 

When all was over, Lee rode out among his 
troops. The soldiers pressed toward him, eager 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 105 
to "touch his person or even his horse," while 
tears ran down their powder-stained cheeks. 
He said to them, slowly : 

"Men, we have fought the war together. I 
have done the best I could for you. My heart 
is too full to sav more." 




AFTER THE SURRENDER AT APPOMATTOX 

Then in silence, with lifted hat, he rode 
through the weeping ranks toward his home in 
Richmond. His face was calm and thoughtful 
as he went his way. He was more concerned 
about the condition of the poor people of the 
South than about his own bad fortune. 



106 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

All along the road the people were glad to 
see liim and gave hun of what they had to eat. 
He was so much touched by their love for him 
that he would say, ^'These good people are kind 
— too kind. They do much more than they are 
able to do for us." 

At a house, wliich he reached at nightfall, a 
woman wished to give hmi a good bed to sleep 
in; but, shaking his head kindly, he spread his 
blanket on the floor and slept there. When he 
came to stop at the home of his brother, Charles- 
Carter Lee, he left the house at night and slept 
in liis old black amiy wagon. He could not at 
once give up the habits that he had formed as 
a sokher. 

When he ariived in Eichmond, a sad sight 
met him. In the great fire of April 3, a large 
part of the city had been burned, and as he rode 
up Main street he saw nothing but masses of 
black ruins. 

At once the news flashed tlirough the city 
that General Lee had come. The people 
crowded the streets to welcome him, showing 



THE CONFEDERATE GENERAL 107 
by cheers and the wavmg of hats and handker- 
chiefs how much they loved hhn. 

He remained for a time in Eichmond, but he 
longed to be alone with his family somewhere 
in the countr}^ Lee needed rest and did not 
wish to see visitors. He had fought for the 
South, which had failed to gam the victory. He 
thought that it was now the duty of eveiy good 
man to avoid hate and to do all in his power to 
build up the waste places of tlie countiy. 

For forty years Lee had been a soldier, and 
for the first time since manhood was in private 
life. He greatly enjo3Td the company of his 
w^ife md children after four years of constant 
w^ar, and as long as he kept his parole he was 
thought to be safe. Steps were taken, how- 
ever, to bring him to trial for treason ; but Gen- 
eral Grant told the President that his honor w^as 
pledged for Lee's safety and that he wished 
the Southern general let alone. Grant's request 
was heard and there was no trial. 

After a time the Lee family left Eichmond 
for the quiet of Powhatan county, wdiere the 



108 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

summer of 1865 was passed. Here, amidst 
pleasant farming scenes, the Southern hero took 

the rest he so much needed. 

G^n' ins : great ability. 
Hurl : to throw \rith force. 

Siege : the act of besetting, or snrroimdiiig. a 
fort or city. 

Sur ren' der : the act of giving np to another. 

"What do yon remember abont — 
Chancellorsville ? 
The death of General Jackson! 
Gettysbnrg? 
The Wilderness ? 
''Lee to the Eear"! 
Cold Harbor? 

The Siege of Eichmond and Petersburg? 
The Snrrender? 
General Grant's kindness. 



CHAPTEE YI 

The College President 

In October, 18G5, General Lee became the 
President of Washington College, at Lexing- 
ton, Virginia. Many other places of trnst were 
offered him ; he dechned them all. As he had 
led the youth of the South in war, he now chose 
to direct tliem in the paths of peace and 
learning. 

Lee rode on his gray warhorse, Traveller, 
from Powhatan county to Lexington in four 
days. When he drew rein in front of the vil- 
lage inn, an old soldier who knew him gave 
the military salute; then he took hold of the 
bridle with one hand and tlie stirrup with the 
other, and held them while the general dis- 
mounted. 

Lee at once began his new duties. He took 
the oath of office, on October 2, 1865, before 
a justice of the peace. The general was dressed 

[109] 



110 LIFE OF ROBEKT E. LEE 

in a plain suit of gray and lie folded his arms 

as he listened calmly to the reading of the oath. 

The great soldier was now a college presi- 
dent. His new work was not a light one, and 
he felt its importance. "I have," said he, '^a 
task which I cannot forsake." The college had 
lost much through the war and had to he huilt 
up in eveiy way. But Lee's presence brought 
3'oung men to Lexington from all parts of the 
South; some of his former soldiers came to 
study under him. He set to work with skill 
and zeal and the college felt that a great man 
was leading it. 

It has been said that ''Suns seem larger when 
they set." This was true of Lee. At no time 
of his life did he appear nobler and grander 
than in the closing period. In his quiet study, 
away from the noise of the world, he gave his 
time and talents to the youth of his own loved 
South. His earnest wish was to make Wash- 
ington College a great seat of learning, and to 
this end he worked and planned. 

In March, 1866, he went to Washington as 



THE COLLEGE PRESIDENT 111 

a witness before a committee of Congress which 
was looking into the state of things in the South. 
This was Lee's first visit to any of the large 
cities since the war, and it caused much talk. 
His nephew, Fitzhugh Lee, tells us that the day 
after his return from Washington, he asked one 
of his daughters to go walking with him. She 
said in fun that she did not admire the new hat 
he was about to put on. "You do not like my 
hat?" he said. ''Why there were a thousand 
people in Washington the other day admiring 
it." This was the only time that he spoke of 
the crowds of people who gathered to look at 
him while he w^as in the city. 

The home life at Lexington was beautiful. 
Mrs. Lee was bound to her room b}^ ill health, 
but her husband brought onh^ bright things into 
her chamber. He let no one touch her chair 
w^hen he was near, — to push her around was 
his sacred privilege. 

"Mrs. Lee," he said one day as he stood be- 
hind her chair, "I have such a nice thing to tell 
you to-day. I have had a letter from one of 



112 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

'my bo3^s' and he tells me that he is going to be 
married, and that he wishes me to give his wife 
the most beautiful bridal present that a woman 
could desire. He w^ants me to waite her a letter 
and sign it with mv name." 

It might be asked whether General Lee was 
content in his quiet home after the stirring days 
of the war. This was what he wrote a friend : 
'Tor my own part, I much enjoy the charms 
of civil life, and find, too late, that I have 
wasted the best years of my life." 

There was no bitterness in Lee's heart, and 
he had much humor. Once, when asked how 
a certain student was getting along, he said, 
"He is a very quiet and orderly young man, but 
he seems very careful not to injure the health 
of his father's son. N'ow, I do not want the 
young men to injure their health, but I want 
them to come as near it as possible." 

Lee's deep religious feeling was shown in 
many wws. Seeing that the college chapel was 
not large enougli, he began to plan for a new 
one. He chose a site in front of the colleo-e 



lU LIFE OF EOBEKT E. LEE 

buildings, so that the chapel might be in fitll 
Tiew. He had the plans for it made imder bl- 
own eye and he did not rest imtil the chapel 
was finished and opened for the senice of God. 
It is in this building that his body rests. 

Early in 1870, in the midst of these labors, 
Lee's health began to fail. There was a flush 
on his cheek and an air of weariness about him 
which alarmed his friends. Khetunatism of the 
beart had set in, and in March, 1870, he went 
south ''to look upon other scenes and enjoy tlie 
breezes in the 'land of sim and flowers.' '' His 
datighter Agnes traveled with him. 

On this trip he once more went to see his 
father's tomb on the island oS the Georgia 
coast. He placed fresh flowers on the grave, 
which was in good order, though the hotise 
nearby had been bimied and the island laid 
waste. He also visited the grave of his daugh- 
ter Annie at Warrenton, Xorth CaroKna. 

Lee's health seemed better on his return 
bome. The change did not last long. His step 
soon giew slow again, and the flush on his 



THE COLLEGE PRESIDENT 115 

cheek began to deepen. "A noble life was 
drawing to a close." 

On the morning of October 12, 1870, the 
news flashed over the wires that Eobert E. Lee 
was dead. He had taken cold at a vestry meet- 
ing in the damp, cold church. The meeting had 
been a long one. Among many things talked 
over was the minister's salar3\ Fifty-five 
dollars were needed to make it up. Though 
Lee had already given his full share, he said 
in a low voice, "I will give the sum." These 
words were the last he spoke in public, and this 
giving was his last act. He had become chilled 
in the church and when he reached home was 
too ill to speak. 

Mrs. Lee wrote thus of his last hours : 

"M}^ husband came in while we were at tea 
and I asked him where he had been, as we had 
waited some time for him. He did not rej^ly, 
but stood up as if to say grace. Xo words came 
from his lips, but with a sad smile he sat down 
in his chair." 

The family saw that he was very sick. A 



116 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

bed was at once brought to the dining-room 
and the doctors were sent for. At first he grew 
better, but soon a change came for the worse. 
He rarely spoke except when sleeping, and 
then his thoughts were with his soldiers on the 
"dreadful battlefields." 

lOnce when General Custis Lee said some- 
thing about his getting well, he shook his head 
and pointed upward. AYlien his doctor said to 
cheer him, ''How do you feel to-day. General?" 
Lee said slowly, "I feel better." The doctor 
then said, ''You must make haste and get well. 
Traveller has been standing so long in the stable 
that he needs exercise." The general made no 
repty, but shook his head and closed his eyes. 
Once or twice he put aside his medicine, saying, 
*'It is no use." 

On October 10, about midnight, he was 
seized with a chill and his pulse grew feeble. 
The next day he was seen to be sinking. Among 
his last words w^re, "Tell Hill he must come 
up!" A little later he was unable to speak, 
though he knew those about him. Soon after 



THE COLLEGE PRESIDENT llT 

nine o'clock on the morning of October 12, 
1870, lie closed his eyes on earthly things and 
his soul took its flight. 

The college chapel was chosen by Mrs. Lee 
as the burial place for her husband. October 
13 was fixed on as the time for moving the body 
to the chapel, where it was to lie in state until 
October 15, the date for the burial. 

At the hour named, a long procession was 
formed. Old soldiers made an escort of honor. 
After them came the hearse, with the clergy 
and twelve pallbearers. Behind the hearse 
Lee's iron-gray warhorse was led by two old 
soldiers. Then followed a long line of students, 
cadets, and people. 

The body was laid in state in the college 
chapel, where the people might pass by and 
look on the face of the great soldier. Rare 
flowers covered the coffin. The chapel was' 
placed in charge of a guard of honor made up 
of college students, who kept watch by day 
and night. 

On October 14, a funeral service was held in 



118 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

the oliapel, and the next da}' the bod}' was kid 

in the tomb. 

The Hag of Virginia hung at half-mast above 
the college. As the procession started, the bells 
of the town began to toll and the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute battery fired minute guns. Kev. 
J. William Jones described the funeral in these 
words : 

''The old soldiers wore their citizen's clothes, 
with black ribbons in the lapels of their coats ; 
and Traveller, with trappings of mourning on 
his saddle, was again led by two old soldiers. 
The Virginia Military Institute was beautifidly 
draped, and from its turrets hung at half mast, 
and draped in mourning, the Hags of all the 
States of the late Southern Confederacy. 

'•At the chapel the Eev. Pr. Pendleton, the 
dear friend of General Lee, his chief of artillery 
during the war and his rector the pa>^t five 
years, read the beautiful burial service of the 
Episcopal Church. 

"When the body had been placed in the 
vault, the chaplain read the concludino- service 



THE COLLEGE PRESIDENT IID 

from the bank on the- southern side of the 
chapel; and tlien the grand old hymn, 'How 
firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,' was 
sung b}' the people." 




RECUMBENT STATUE OF LEE AT LEXINGTON 

Upon the white marble of the tomb are 
carved these words: 

ROBERT EDWARD LEE 

Born January 19, 1807 

Died October 12, 1870. 

All the South mourned for Lee. Bells were 

tolled in cities and villages, and meetings were 

held to show the grief of the people. 



12U LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Soon after the funeral a little girl wrote to 
Mrs. Lee: 

"I have heard of General Lee, your husband, 
and of all his great and noble deeds during the 
war. I have also heard lately of his death. I 
have read in the papers that collections are 
being made for the Lee monument. I have 
asked my mother to let me send some money 
that I earned myself. I made some of the 
money by keeping the door shut last winter, and 
the rest I made by digging up grass in the 
garden. I send 3'OU all I have. I wish it was 
more. I am nine now. 

Eespectfully, 

''Maggie McIntyee." 
Many good men and women wrote to Mrs. 
Lee, and money was given, until at last two 
statues were raised to General Lee — one in 
Lexington, where he is buried, and the other 
in Eichmond, the cit}^ lie fought so hard to save. 
In recent years other monuments to Lee have 
arisen ; one of them stands in the Hall of Eame, 



THE COLLEGE PRESIDENT 121 

in Washington ; another is located on the battle- 
field of Gettysburg. 

The legislature of Virginia made January 
19, the birthday of Robert E. Lee, a legal holi- 
day. On that day, all over the South, meetings 
are held in memory of him, speeches are made 
by great men, and children recite j)oems which 
honor his name and his deeds. 

Chap' lain: a minister of the gospel attending 
an army. 

Es' cort : a guard. 

Mon' u ment : something put up in honor of a 
man. 

Pro ces' sion : a line of marchers. 

Eheu' ma tism : a disease which attacks muscles, 

Stat' ue : the likeness of a great man in stone or 
metal. 

Ves' try: the governing body of an Ex)iscopal 
Church. 

Tell— 

What General Lee became in 1865. 
Something about his work. 
About his visit to the South in 1870. 
About his illness and death. 
About Washington and Lee tJniversity. 
What day is kept throughout the South in 
memory of Lee? 



CHAPTER VII 
The Man in Peace and in War 

Perhaps no man ever lived that was so great, 
so good, and so unselfish as Lee. Duty was the 
ke3'note of his life. In the midst of his great- 
ness he was humble, simple, and gentle. 

There are many true stories about Lee that 
throw light on his character. His fondness for 
children was shown in many ways. 

Once when riding in the mountains near 
Lexington with one of his daughters, he came 
to a group of children who ran at the sight of 
him. The general called to them : 

^'Why are you running away? Are you 
afraid of me?" 

"Oh, no, sir! but we are not dressed nicely 
enough to see you." 

"Why, who do you think I am?" 

"You are General Lee; we know you by 
your picture." 

[122] 



THE MAN IN PEACE AND IN WAR 123 

General Lee knew all the boys and girls in 
Lexington and loved to talk with them. When 
he rode out in the afternoon on Traveller, he 
used to be greeted by the children. At times 
he would take some of them to ride. 

One evening as he was riding along, he 
noticed two little girls who were quarrehng. 
The elder was vainly trying to persuade her 
six-year-old sister to go home. AYhen the gen- 
eral rode up, she said to him, ^'General Lee, 
won't you please make this child go home to 
her mother f The general invited tli,e little one 
to ride with him, and she went along. When 
the mother asked the older cliild why she had 
given General Lee so much trouble, she replied, 
"I couldn't make Ean go home, and I thought 
he could do anything." 

Lee was careful in all his habits. He took 
care to be right in little things. One day the 
clerk of the faculty at Washington College 
wrote a letter to some one at General Lee's re- 
quest, in which he used the term "our students." 
When Lee saw the letter, he said that he did 



124 LIFE OF ROBEKT E. LEE 

not like the words ''our students." He said 
that he had no properts^ rights in the students 
and that he thought it best to say ''the students," 
instead of "om* students." 

There is no end to the stories showing Lee's 
thoughtfuhiess of others. One day before ser- 
vice in the chapel at Washington College, Gen- 
eral Lee was seen to shake hands and chat with 
a strange clergyman. Li the meantime Rev. 
J. William Jones, who was to lead the worship 
in the chapel, came up and asked General Lee 
in a whisper to introduce the new minister to 
him, so that he might invite him to conduct the 
service. But General Lee, with ready tact, said, 
"Mr. Jones, it is time for service; you had 
better go to the chapel." 

After service, when he could do so without 
being heard, Lee asked Mr. Jones to find out 
the stranger's name. He had met the man in 
the Mexican war but could not recall his name. 
Mr. Jones did so, and General Lee, standing- 
near, heard it ; then, without making it known 
that he had forgotten his friend of the Mexican 



126 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

war, introduced him to tiiose who were near. 

Lee cotild not think of htuting the minister's 

feehngs by letting him know that he had been 

forgotten. 

This storv' went the rotmds of the Southern 
newspapers in 18(34: 

"On the train to Petersbiu-g, one very cold 
morning, a young soldier, with his arm in ^ 
sling, was making gi^at efforts to put on his 
overcoat. In the midst of his trouble, an officei 
rose from his seat, went to him and kindh 
helped him, di'awing the coat gently over thu 
woimded arm; then with a few kind wordc 
lie went to his seat. 

*'Xow, the officer was not clad in a fine imi- 
form with a gilt wreath on his collar and many 
straps on his sleeves, but he had on a plain suit 
of gray, with only the three gilt stars which 
eveiy Confederate colonel could wear. And 
yet, he was no other than our gi-eat general, 
Eobert E. Lee, who is not braver than he is 
good and modest." 

Lee's dislike of display was noted. It is said 



THE MAN IN PEACE AND IN WAR 127 

that during the Seven Days' Battle, he was sit- 
ting under a tree in the twihght, when a doctor 
rode up and said: 

"Old man, I have chosen this tree for my 
field hospital and I want you to get out of 
the way." 

"I will gladly give way when the wounded 
come up, but in the meantime there is plenty 
of room for both," was the calm reply. 

The angiy doctor was about to make some 
retort, when a staff officer rode up and spoke 
to the ''old man" as General Lee. 

In 1864, when General Lee was on the lines 
below Eichmond, many soldiers came near him, 
drawing the enemy's fire. He said to the 
soldiers : 

"Men, you had better go into the backyard; 
they are firing up here, and you may get hurt." 

The soldiers obeyed, but they saw General 
Lee walk across the open space, pick up some- 
thing and place it in a tree over his head. Later 
they found out that the thing he had risked his 
life for was only a little bird which had fallen 



128 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

out of its nest. The stern chief had a heart so 
tender that he could pause amid a rain of shot 
and shell to care for a tiny fallen birdling. 

Lee dearly loved horses. Once, when at the 
springs, he wrote to his clerk in Lexington, 
sending this message to his horse Traveller, 
"Tell him I miss him very much." 

Traveller lived only two years after his mas- 
ter's death. Li the summer of 1872, when he 
was fifteen years old, the fine faithful anunal 
which had carried the general through the 
storms of war and the calm of his latter years 
died of lockjaw in Lexington. He was noted 
for his springy walk, high spirit, and gi'eat 
strength. He was Lee's most famous war- 
horse. 

Li the smnmer of 1862, General Lee owned 
a beautiful horse called Richmond, given him 
by some friends in the cit\^ of Eichmond. To 
the sorrow of his master, this pet was short- 
lived, and what Lee wrote after his death 
sounds ahnost as if the general grieved over a 
friend: 



THE MAN IN PEACE AND IN WAR 129 

^'His labors are over and he is at rest. He 
carried me faithfully, and I shall never have 
so beautiful an animal again." 

Lee was a Christian soldier. He hated no 
one. He called the Northern soldiers ''those 
people," not the enenw. The Rev. J. William 
Jones says that one day soon after the war he 
saw General Lee give some money to a poor 
man. As the man walked away, Lee said to 
Jones : 

"That is one of the old soldiers;" and added, 
''he fought on the other side, but we must not 
think of that." 

When General Lee was at the White Sulphur 
Springs after the war, a lady, pointing to a man 
nearby, said: 

"That is General of the Federal 

army. He is liaving quite a dull time. He is 
here with his daughter, but we do not care to 
have anything to do with them." 

"I am glad that you told me," said Lee. "I 
will see at once that they have a 1)etter time." 

He took pains to make friends with the 



130 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

!N"orthern general and his famlh^, and so set the 
fashion for others. The general and his daugh- 
ter were soon having a ''better time." 

General Lee was more than brave and ten- 
der; he was generous and big-hearted. After 
the charge on the third day at Gett3^sburg, one 
of his generals rode up and told him, almost in 
tears, that his men were for the most part killed 
or womided. Lee, taking hold of his liand, 
said, "All this has been my fault. It is I who 
have lost this fight, and you must help me out 
as best 3^ou can." Xot once did he cast the 
blame where it belonged, but rode among his 
men with such words of cheer as these : "All 
this will come right in the end." "We want 
all good and true men just now." "All good 
men must rally." Li this way he closed his 
broken lines, and showed such a brave front 
that ^leade did not deem it well to renew the 
battle. 

Once, when some friends were at liis liouse 
in Richmond, a clergyman spoke in sliai-p terms 
of the North. A little later when he rose to 



THE MAN IN PEACE AND IN WAR 131 
go, Lee went with liim to the door and said, 
*'n)ctor, there is a good book which I read 
and which you preach from, which says, 'Love 
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do 
good to'them that hate you.' Do you thhik that 
the speech you made just now was quite in 
tliat spirit f' 

The minister made some excuse. 

General Lee added, "I fought the people of 
the North because I believed that they were 
seeking to wrest from the South her rights. . . . 
I have never seen the day when I did not pray 
for them." 

Just before a battle, as Lee and his generals 
were looking at the Federal host, one of them 
said, ''I wish those people were all dead !" 

General Lee, turning to him, said, ''How 
can you say so? N^ow, I wish they would all 
go home and leave us to do the same." 

A lady who had lost her husband in the war 
brought her two sons to Washington College. 
She spoke bitterly of the North to General Lee. 
He gently replied, ^'Madam, do not train up 



13-2 LIFE OF ROBEr.T E. LEE 

yoiu* clilklren as foes to the government oi the 
United States. . . . We are one coiintiy n >w. 
Bring them up to be Amerirans." 

Lee heheved that men shoiihl stand by their 
coimtiy. The welfare of the poor, desoUited 
South was his chief concern. At the close of 
the war some of the best men went to seek 
homes in other lands. Lee thought this to be 
wrong. He thotight that the men of the South 
should stay at home and build up the land laid 
waste by war. He wrote a friend thus : 

**She (Yirghiia) has need of all of her sons, 
and can ill ali'ord to spare you.'' Again he 
wrote: *"I think the South needs the aid of 
her sons more than at any time of her history. 
As you ask. I will state that I have no thought 
of leaving her." 

Though so gentle and courteous. General 
Lee was at the same time veiy proud: he re- 
fused to take the aid wliich, from time to time, 
his friends offered liim. Tliey knew that he 
had lost his '*air' by the war, and they wished 
to help him, so that he might pass his last days 



THE MAN IN PEACE AND IN WAK 18:3 
without care. In a quiet Avay, the trustees of 
^^^ashing•ton College gave the house in which 
he lived to Mrs. Lee, and also the sum of three 
thousand dollars each year ; when he heard of 
these gifts, he wrote in Mrs. Lee's name de- 
chning them. 

After his death, the trustees again deeded the 
home to Mrs. Lee and sent her a check for some 
money. But she, with her hushand's pride, 
sent hack the check and would not let the col- 
lege funds he taken for her use. 

Lee was always neat in his attire, and care- 
ful of his appearance. This trait was nuich 
talked of at the time of the surrender. The 
scene has heen thus descrihed : 

"A short space apart sat two men. The 
larger and taller of the two was more striking. 
His hair was as white as snow. There was not 
a speck upon his coat, not a spot upon those 
gauntlets he wore, which were as bright and 
fair as a lady's glove. That was Eobert E. Lee. 
The other was Utysses S. Grant. His boots 
were niuddv and he wore no sword. 



134 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

"The words that passed between Lee and 
Grant were few. While the officeers were writ- 
ing out the terms of surrender, Grant said, 
'General Lee, I have no sword. I rode all 
night.' And General Lee, with the pride which 
became him well, made no reply, but in a cold, 
formal way, bowed. 

''There were a few w^ords, which we could 
not hear, spoken in a low tone of voice between 
Grant and Lee. 

"At last, when the terms of surrender had 
been signed, Lee arose, cold and proud, and 
bowed to each man on our side of the room. 
And then he wTut out and passed down that 
little square in front of the house, and momited 
his gray horse that had carried him all over 
Virginia. 

"When he had gone, we learned what the 
low-toned words had meant. General Grant 
turned and said, 'You go and ask each man 
that has three rations to turn over two of tliem 
and send them to General Lee. His men are 
on the point of starvation.' " 




LEE AND GRANT AT APPOMATTOX 



13G LIFE OF EOBEKT E. LEE 

General Fitzliugh Lee thus pictiu'es the two 
generals : 

''Grant, not yet forty-three years old, five 
feet eight inches tall, shoulders slightly stooped, 
hair and heard nut-brown, wearing a dark blue 
blouse, top boots, pants inside, without spiu's or 
ST^ord. and no marks of rank save the straps 
of a general. 

*'Lee, fifty-eight years old. six feet tall, hair 
and beard silver-gray, a handsome iniiform of 
Confederate gray, with three stars on the collar, 
fine top-boots with spurs, and at his side a 
splendid sword." 

Lee was a man of the best habits. He never 
touched tobacco or drink. Once he oftered a 
treat to some of his ofiicers, saying. "I have a 
demijohn which I know is of the best." The 
jug was brought and the cups held out were 
filled to the brim — not with whiskey, but with 
fresh buttermilk. The general seemed to enjoy 
the joke hugely. 

Lee liimself lived on the plainest fare. Xear 
the close of the war, when meat had become 



THE MAN IN PEACE AND IN WAE 137 
scarce, an aid of President Davis was asked 
to dine at Lee's headquarters. The meal spread 
on the rough board was corn-bread and a small 
j)iece of meat in a large dish of greens. The aid 
saw that the meat was not touched, though 
General Lee had invited every one to take a 
part of it. When the meal was over, the aid 
asked an officer why the meat was not eaten. 
The repty was that it had been loaned by a 
friend to cook with the greens and had to be 
returned. 

At a fine dinner he was attending one day, 
Lee refused all the best dishes, saying, "I can- 
not consent to be feasting while my poor men 
are nearly starving." It was his habit to send 
nice things to eat to the sick and wounded in 
the hospitals. A lady whose brother was badly 
wounded near Petersburg tells about General 
Lee's coming to see him one day. He took the 
wounded man by the hand and told him to 
cheer up, tliat there was need of all brave men. 
Then he drew two fine peaches from his pocket 
and laid them on tlie side of the cot. Tears 



138 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

trickled down the wounded man's cheeks when 
he saw how much his chief cared for him, a 
private soldier. 

Lee did not like show of any kind. An Eng- 
lish officer w^rote thus of Lee's headquarters in 
1862 : ''Lee's headquarters I found were only 
seven or eight pole-tents, with their backs to a 
stake-fence, while a stream of good water 
flowed close by. Li front of the tents w^ere 
tln-ee wagons, and a number of horses roamed 
over the fields. No guards were seen near, and 
no crowd of aids swarmed about. A large 
farmliouse stood close b}^ which woidd have 
made a good home for the general, but Lee does 
not let his men rob or disturb the people, and 
likes to set them a good example." 

Lee loved and trusted his soldiers and was 
loved and trusted b}^ them. He said over and 
over again that the arm}^ he led was one of the 
best that a general ever commanded. 

The Eev. J. William Jones was driving 
along a road one day not long after the end of 
the w^ar. He saw^ a young man working In a 



THE MAN IN rp:ACE AND IN WAR 139 
field, guiding the plo^^' ^Yitll one Land, for on 
the other side ^^•as an empty sleeve. The min- 
ister stopped to speak to the soldier, whom he 
knew. The young man at the first tap of the 
drum had gone to figlit for his native State; 
he had been maimed for life and had come 
home to find that he must work with one arm 
for his bread, as his fortune had been wrecked 
by the war. When Jones told tlie man how 
sad it made him to see him thus, the latter said, 
"Oh! it is all right. I thank God that I have 
one arm left and can use it for those I love." 

Later Mr. Jones told this to Lee, and the 
general's face flushed as he said, ''What a noble 
fellow ! But it is just like one of our soldiers. 
The world has never seen nobler men than those 
who belonged to the Army of Northern 
Virginia." 

A short time after the surrender, two ragged 
Confederates, just back from prison in the 
North, waited upon the general and told him 
that there were sixty other soldiers around 
the corner who were too ragged to come. They 



140 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

had sent these two to offer their heloved chief 
a home in the mountains of Virginia. ''We will 
give you," said the messengers, "a good house 
and a fine farm. We boys will work for you 
and you shall never want." 

Tears came to the eyes of General Lee as he 
told them that he must decline their gift. The 
offer of these men was but the feeling of the 
whole South. Though poor themselves, they 
would have given him houses, lands, and 
money, had he let them. 

Just after the w ar. General Lee received the 
following letter from one of his old soldiers : 

' ' Dear General : — 

''We have been fighting hard four years, and 
now the Yankees have got us in Libby Prison. 
They are treating us awful bad. The boys want 
you to get us out if you can; but if you can't, just 
ride by the Libby and let us see you and give you 
a cheer. We will all feel better for it." 

The corner-stone of Lee's life was his faith 
in God. As he said once, "My whole trust is 
in God, and I am ready for wdiatever he may 
ordain." 



THE MAN IN TEACE AND IN WAE 141 
While the arni}^ was at Mine Eun in Novem- 
ber, 18G3, and a battle seemed at hand, Lee, 
riding down the line of battle, came upon a 
party of soldiers holding a pra^'er-meeting. 
The cannon were alread}^ roaring and the mind 




LIBBY PRISON, RICHMOND, VA. 

and heart of the great chief were on the fight. 
Yet, when he saw those men bent in prayer, he 
dismounted and joined in the simple worship. 

Wlien General Lee won a victory, he gave 
the glory to a higher power. '''God has again 
crowned the valor of our troops with success," 
lie would write. A minister once said to him 
at a critical moment in the war, ''I think it is 



142 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

right to tell you, General, that the chaplains of 
the ixnuy have a deep interest in your welfare 
and some of the most fervent prayers we offer 
are in 3^om' behalf." His face flushed and tears 
started in his eyes, as he replied with deep emo- 
tion, "Please thank them for tliat. sir. T 
warmly appreciate it. And I can only say that 
I am nothing but a poor sinner . . . and need 
all the pra^Trs they can offer for me." 

Yet his religion was very practical. He once 
said to a friend about a preacher who held ser- 
vice at Washington College: "Do you think 
it would be any harm for me to hint that we 
should be glad if he made his morning prayere 
a little shorter ? You know our friend makes his 
prayers too long. He prays for the Turks and 
the heathen, and nms into the hour for our col- 
lege recitations. AVould it be wrong for me to 
hint that he confine his morning prayers to us 
poor sinners flf the college?" 

Lee's love for his wife and children is shown 
in the many tender, loving letters he wTote 
when awav from them. Just before the Fed- 



THE MAN IN PEACE AND IN WAR 143 

era! army crossed the Potomac in 1861, Mrs. 
Lee left her heautiful home, xVrUngton, and 
came Soutli. Arlington was at once seized ])y 




f) h 






In A 



.^^Pi* Ni^^ 



LEE'S HOME IN RICHMOND 



the Northern government and the grounds used 
as a hurial-place for soldiers. 

Mrs. Lee and her daughters then sought a 
home at the ''White House" on the Pamunkey 
river, where Washington married the ''Widow 
Custis." Thev were soon driven from this 



144 LIFE OF ROBEKT E. LEE 

place by the hosts of McClellan and the house 

was burned to the ground. 

!At last they found a home in Eichmond, 
where they lived until the close of the war. 




MRS. MARY CUSTIS LEE 



Mrs. Lee's health had failed, but much of her 
time was spent in knitting socks for the bare- 
footed soldiers of the South. Her brave daugh- 



THE MAN IN PEACE AND IN WAR 145 
ters also knit socks, and nursed the sick and 
wounded in the hospitals. 

The death of her husband was, of course, a 
great shock to Mrs. Lee, who was not able to 
walk without aid. She did not live many years 
longer and now rests beside Lee in the college 
chapel at Lexington. A daughter, Agnes, who 
died soon after her father, is buried in the same 
place. 

Close by is the grave of Stonewall Jackson. 
The blue mountains of their loved Virginia 
keep "watch and ward" over their graves; and 
each year pilgrims from every part of the land 
come to visit their tombs and place fresh flowers 
upon them. 

General Custis Lee was made president of 
Washington College in his fatlier's place. The 
college is now called Washington and Lee Uni- 
versit}^ after Washington ard Lee, the two 
great names in the history of our countiy. 

Char' ac ter : what a man is. 
Des' o la ted: laid waste, ruined. 



146 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Trus tee' : a man who has charge of something ; 
a member of a board. 

Head' quar ters : the place where a general lives. 
Maimed : having lost an arm or a leg. 
Pir grim: a traveler to holy places. 

Tell of— 

Lee's care not to hurt the minister's feel- 
ings. 

His kindness to a wounded soldier on a 
train. 

His thought of a little bird. 

His riding horse Traveller. 

Lee's feeling toward the North. 

His refusal to accept help. 

His appearance at the surrender. 

His headquarters in 1862. 

His religion. 



CHAPTER YIII 
The People's Hero 

When Lee died, the newspapers of the whole 
world spoke of him. 

The Xew York Sun said: 

"His death will awaken great grief through 
the South, and niaiiy people in the North will 
drop a tear of sorrow on his bier. ... In 
General Lee, an able soldier, a sincere Chris- 
tian, and an honest man has been taken from 
earth." 

The New York Herald said these kind words 
of liim: 

"Li a quiet autumn morning, in the land he 
loved so well, and, as he held, had seiwed so 
faithfully, the spirit of Eobert E. Lee left the 
cla}^ wliicli it had so much ennolded. . . . Not 
to the Southern people alone sliall be limited the 
tribute of a tear over the dead Yirginian. Here 
in the North, forgetting that the time was when 

[147] 



148 LIFE OF ROBEKT E. LEPl 

the sword of Eobert E. Lee was drawn against 
us, we have long since ceased to look on hun 
as the Confederate leader, but have claimed him 
as one of ourselves; for Eobert E. Lee was an 
American, 'and the great nation which gave him 
birth would to-day be unworthy of such a son 
if she looked upon him lightly.'' 

The Pall Mall Gazette, London, England, 
said: 

''The news from America that General Eob- 
ert E. Lee is dead will be received with great 
sorrow by many in this country, as well as b}^ 
his fellow-soldiers in America. It is but a few 
jTars since Eobert E. Lee ranked among the 
great men of his time. He was the able soldier 
of the Southern Confederacy, the leader who 
twice threatened, by the capture of Washing- 
ton, to turn the tide of success and cause a invo- 
lution which would have changed the destiny 
of the United States." 

General Preston spoke of him thus: 

"I knew him wlien he was a captain. At 
that time General Scott liad decidinl upon Lee 



THE PEOrLE'S HERO 110 

as a man who would make liis mark if he were 
ever called upon to do great work. When the 
war came on, he followed his native State, Vir- 
o'inia. ... I remend)er when Scott made use 
of these words : 'I tell 3^ou one thing. If I 
were on my death-bed and knew^ that a battle 
was to be fought for my country and the Presi- 
dent were to say to me, 'Scott, who shall com- 
mand f I tell you that with my dying breatli 
I would say Eobert Lee.' " 

Time has but added to Lee's fame. Theo- 
dore Eoosevelt said of him: ''As a mere mlli- 
tar^^ man Washinoton himself cannot rank with 
the wonderful war-chief who for four A^ears 
led the Army of Northern Yi]-ginia. . . . Lee 
will rank as the greatest of all the captains that 
the English-speaking people have brought 
forth — and this, although the last and chief of 
his opponents [Cirant] may claim to stand as 
the full equal of Maidborough or Wellington." 

Lord Wolseley, the famous English general, 
said of Lee: 

"I shall never foroet his sweet, winning' 



150 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

smile, or his clear, honest eyes, which seemed 
to look into 3^our heart. I have met many of 
the great men of my time, but Lee alone made 
me feel that I was in the presence of a man 
who was cast in a grander mold and made of 
a different and finer metal than all other men. 
I have met with but two men who realize my 
ideas of what a true hero should be — my friend 
Charles Gordon was one ; General Lee was the 
other." 

Charles Francis Adams said of him: 
' 'Uttering no complaints, entering into no 
disputes, he was as one in suffering all, that suf- 
fers nothing. Lie accepted fortune's buffets 
and rewards with equal thanks. His record 
and appearance during those final 3Tars are 
pleasant to dwell upon, for they reflect honor 
on our American manhood." 

The love and admiration felt for Lee was 
shown when the bronze statue by Mercie' 
(mercea') was unveiled in Eichmond in 
1890. Soon after the death of Lee, a few 
ladies met in a parlor in Eichmond and formed 



THE PEOPLE'S HERO 151 

a society kno\Yii as the Ladies' Lee Monument 
Association. Their plan was to put up a statue 
to the memory of the great leader, and to col- 
lect funds for this purpose from the entire 
South. The lahor of love began at once. 
Though the South was very poor at this time, 
the people gave gladly of their small means, 
until the association had gathered over fifteen 
thousand dollars. 

Meanwhile Fitzlmgh Lee became Governor 
of Virginia and he took measures to bring 
about the erection of the monmiient. A board 
of managers was appointed to choose the de- 
sign, the artist, and the site. A lot in tlie west- 
ern part of this cit}^ was given the association 
by Mr. Otwa}^ Allen ; the board selected Jean 
Mercie', a Frenchman, who was both a painter 
and sculptor of note, to make the statue. The 
best photographs of General Lee, as well as his 
shoes and uniform, were sent the sculjitor. In 
working out Lee's likeness, Mercie' had the 
good fortune to consult Miss Mary Lee, who 
was then in Paris. 



152 LIFE OF liOBEKT E. LEE 

Tlie corner-stone of the nioniinient was laid 
in 1887 Avitli solenni rites, and in May, 1890, 
the statue reached Richmond. It ^Yas packed 
in three boxes. Eacli box Avas placed on a 
wagon; one wagon was drawn by men of the 
city; one by old soldiers, and the third by 
women and girls — the fine lad}^ and her humble 
sister standing shoulder to shoulder. They 
pulled the wagons through the city amid the 
cheers of many thousands of people, until they 
came to the spot where the statue was to stand. 

The monument is sixt}^ feet high, and cost 
about sixty-five thousand dollars. It shows 
Lee mounted on Traveller. His feet touch the 
stirrups lightly, after the manner of Southern 
horsemen. He is clad in a plain uniform, with 
a sash around his waist and a cavalry sword 
by his side. He holds the bridle reins in his 
left hand, while in his right is his hat, which 
he grasps as if taken off in response to clieers. 
■ The monument was unveiled on May 29, 
1890. From all sections people thronged to 
do honor to the great man. It was a bright, 



THE PEOPLE'S HEPvO 153 

sunshiny day. At noon the long line formed 
and the parade began. Every window, door- 
wa}^, and other place of vantage was filled with 
people eager to see the procession, which was 
four miles long. 

Pitzliugh Lee, nephew of the hero, was the 
chief marshal of the parade. Cheer after cheer 
went up as he rode b}^, wearing his old cavalry 
liat. The guests rode in open carriages, among 
tliem Lee's two daughters. They were followed 
by company after company of soldiers from 
all the Southern States; behind them marched 
the veterans of the war. There were old sol- 
diers from every one of the Confederate States, 
among them General Longstreet, Lee's famous 
lieutenant. Some were clad in their old gray 
uniforms, faded and worn, and in some cases 
full of bullet holes. Here and there along tlie 
line could be seen the torn flags of the Con- 
federacy. 

After the veterans came the students of 
Washington and Lee Universit}^, the Virginia 
Military Institute, and other bodies. 



15i LIFE OF KOBEliT E. LEE 

An iininense throng surrounded the veiled 
statue when Governor McKinncy stepped for- 
ward to make the opening speech. There was 
a prayer by the Eevercnd Dr. Minnegerode, 
who had been Lee's rector during the war. 
When the praj^er ended, the band pla3Td 
Dixie, the strains of which had so often thrilled 
the old soldiers as the}^ marched into battle. 
Then General Early rose and spoke a few 
words of cheer to the veterans. 

The orator of the da}^ was Colonel Archer 
Anderson, of Lee's staff, who pictured scene 
after scene in the general's life with great force 
and clearness. When the speaker took his seat, 
General Joseph E. Johnston moved to the base 
of the monument. He pulled the ropes, the veil 
fell aside, and the splendid statue stood out in 
the plain view of the multitude. Up there 
against tlie blue sky, in the midst of his own 
people, was the matchless face and form of Lee, 
Since that time two other notable statues 
have been erected in honor of Lee. One of 
them is in the Hall of Fame in Washine:ton and 




STATUE OF LEE AT GETTYSBURG 



156 LIFE OF liOBEliT E. LEE 

shows Lee standing. The other was phiced on 
the battlefield of Gett^^sburg by the State of 
Virginia, and shows Lee on horseback, as if 
watching the progress of the battle. 

These monuments may pass awa}^ but the 
name and virtues of Eobert E. Lee will never 
die, for they are written in the history of his 
country and will last as long as time itself. 

As so ci a' tion : a society ; a band of people. 
Marl' bor ougli : a great English general, 
Occupa'tion: calling; trade; profession. 
Sec' tions : parts ; regions. 

Wei' ling ton : the English general wlio defeated 
Napoleon at Waterloo. 






LEE'S FAREWELL ADDEESS 



Headquarters Army Northern Virginia, 

Appomattox C. H., April 10, 1865. 
General Orders No. 9. 

After four years of arduous service, marked by 
unsurpassed courage and fortitude, tiie Army of 
Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to 
overwlielming numbers and resources. 

I need not tell the survivors of so many hard- 
fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the 
last, that I have consented to this result from no 
distrust of them; but, feeling that valor and devo- 
tion could accomplish nothing that would compen- 
sate for the loss that must have attended a con- 
tinuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the 
useless sacrifice of those whose past services have 
endeared them to their countrymen. 

By the terms of the Agreement, Officers and men 
can return to their homes and remain until ex- 
changed. You will take with you the satisfaction 
that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faith- 
fully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merci- 
ful God will extend to you His blessing and pro- 
tection. With an unceasing admiration of your 
constancy and devotion to your Country, and a 
grateful remembrance of your kind and generous 
consideration for myself, I bid you all an Affec- 
tionate Farewell. 



r22oL. 



WAR POEMS 



THE SWOED OF LEE 

ABEAM J. RYAN 

Forth from its scabbard, pure and bright, 

Flashed the sword of Lee! 
Far in the front of the deadly fight, 
High o'er the brave, in the cause of right, 
Its stainless sheen, like a beacon light. 
Led ns to victory. 

Out of its scabbard, where full long 

It slumbered peacefully — 
Roused from its rest by the battle-song. 
Shielding the feeble, smiting the strong, 
Guarding the right, and avenging the wrong- 
Gleamed the sword of Lee! 

Forth from its scabbard, high in air. 

Beneath Virginia's sky. 
And they who saw it gleaming there, 
And knew who bore it, knelt to swear 
That where that sword led they would dare 

To follow and to die. 

[159] 



160 LIFE OF EOBEIIT E. LEE 

Out of its scabbard! Never hand 

Waved sword from stain as free, 
Nor purer sword led braver band, 
Nor braver bled for a brighter land, 
Nor brighter land had a cause as grand, 
Nor cause a chief like Lee ! 

Forth from its scabbard ! All in vain I 
Forth flashed the sword of Lee I 
'Tis shrouded now in its sheath again, 
It sleeps the gleep of our noble slain, 
Ut^feated, yet without a stain, 
Proudly and peacefully. 



LEE TO THE EEAE 

JOHN E. THOMPSON" 

Dawn of a pleasant morning in May 
Broke thro' the Wilderness, cool and gray, 
While perched in the tallest tree-tops, the birds 
Were caroling Mendelssohn's ''Songs without 
words." 



Far from the haunts of men remote 
The brook brawled on with a liquid note, 
And nature, all tranquil and lovely, wore 
The smile of spring, as in Eden of yore. 



WAE POEMS 161 

Little by little, as daylight increased, 

And deepened the roseate fliisli in the East — 

Little by little did morning reveal 

Two long, glittering lines of steel! 

Where two hundred thousand bayonets gleam, 
Tipped with the light of the earliest beam, 
And the faces are sullen and grim to see 
In the hostile armies of Grant and Lee. 

All of a sudden, ere rose the sun, 
Pealed on the silence the opening gun — 
A little white puff of smoke there came. 
And anon the valley was wreathed in flame, 

Down on the left of the rebel lines. 

Where a breastwork stands in a copse of pines, 

Before the rebels their ranks can form 

The Yankees have carried the place by storm. 

Stars and Stripes o'er the salient wave. 
Where many a hero has found a grave, 
And the gallant Confederates strive in vain 
The ground they have drenched with their blood 
to regain. 

Yet louder the thunder of battle roared — 
Yet a deadlier fire on their columns ]ioured — 
Slaughter, infernal, rode with Despair, 
Furious twain, through the smoky air. 



162 LIFE OF KOBERT E. LEE 

Not far off in the saddle there sat 
A gray-bearded man with black slouch hat; 
Not much moved by the fire was he — • 
Calm and resolute, Robert Lee. 

Quick and watchful, he kept his eye 
On two bold rebel brigades close by — 
Reserves that were standing (and dying) at ease 
Where the tempest of wrath toppled over the trees. 

For still with their loud, bull-dog bay 
The Yankee batteries blazed away. 
And with every murderous second that sped 
A dozen brave fellows, alas ! fell dead. 

The grand old beard rode to the space 
Where Death and his victims stood face to face, 
And silently waved his old slouch hat — 
A world of meaning there was in that! 

"Follow me! Steady! We'll save the day!" 
This was what he seemed to say; 
And to the light of his glorious eye 
The bold brigades thus made reply: 

''We'll go forward, but you must go back." 
And they moved not an inch in the perilous track. 
''Go to the rear, and we'll give them a rout." 
Then the sound of the battle was lost in their shout. 



WAR POEMS 1GB 

Turning his bridle, Robert Lee 
Rode to the rear. Like the waves of the sea 
Bursting the dilves in their overflow, 
Madly his veterans dashed on the foe ; 

And backward in terror that foe was driven, 
Their banners rent and their columns riven 
Wherever the tide of battle rolled, 
Over the Wilderness, wood, and wold. 

Sunset out of a crimson sky 
Streamed o'er a field of a ruddier dye. 
And the brook ran on with a purple stain 
From the blood of ten thousand foemen slain. 

Seasons have passed since that day and year. 
Again o'er the pebbles the brook runs clear, 
And the field in a richer green is drest 
Where the dead of the terrible conflict rest. 

Hushed is the roll of the rebel drum ; 

The sabres are sheathed and the cannon are dumb, 

And Fate, with pitiless hand, has furled 

The flag that once challenged the gaze of the world. 

But the fame of the Wilderness fight abides, 
And down into history grandly rides, 
Calm and unmoved, as in battle he sat. 
The gray-bearded man in the black slouch hat. 



164 LIFE OF KOBEIIT E. LEE 

THE CONQUERED BANNER 

ABRAM JOSEPH EYAN 

Furl that banner, for 'tis weary; 
Round its staff 'tis drooping dreary; 

Furl it, fold it, it is best; 
For there's not a man to wave it, 
And there's not a sword to save it, 
And there's not one left to lave it 
In the blood which heroes gave it; 
And its foes now scorn and brave it — 

Furl it, hide it, let it rest. 

Take that banner down — 'tis tattered. 
Broken is its staff and shattered, 
And the valiant hosts are scattered 

Over whom it floated high. 
Oh ! 'tis hard for us to fold it. 
Hard to think there's none to hold it. 
Hard that those who once enrolled it 

Now must furl it with a sigh. 

Furl that banner, furl it sadly — 
Once ten thousands hailed it gladly. 
And ten thousands wildly, madly. 

Swore it should forever wave. 
Swore that foeman's sword should never 
Hearts like theirs entwined dissever, 
Till that flag should float forever 

O'er their freedom or their grave. 



WAR POEMS 165 

Furl it ! for the bands that grasped it, 
And the hearts that fondly chisped it, 

Cold and dead are lying low; 
And the banner, it is trailing. 
While around it sounds the wailing 

Of its people in their woe. 

For, though conquered, they adore it, 
Love the cold, dead hands that bore it. 
Weep for those who fell before it. 
Pardon those who trailed and tore it. 
And oh! wildly they deplore it. 
Now to furl and fold it so. 

Furl that banner ! true 'tis gory, 
Yet 'tis wreathed around with glory, 
And 'twill live in song and story, 

Though its folds are in the dust; 
For its fame on brightest pages, 
Penned by jioets and by sages, 
Shall go sounding down the ages. 

Furl its folds though now we must 

Furl that banner! softly, slowly. 
Treat it gently — it is holy — 

For it droops above the dead; 
Touch it not, unfold it never; 
Let it droop there, furled forever, 

For its people's hopes are dead. 



166 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

MUSIC IN CAMP 

JOHN R. THOMPSON 

Two armies covered hill and plain, 
Where K-appahannock's waters 

Ran, deeply crimsoned with the stain 
Of battle's recent slaughters. 

The summer clouds lay pitched like tents 
In meads of heavenly azure; 

And each dread gun of the elements 
Slei^t in its hid embrasure. 

The breeze so softly blew, it made 

No forest leaf to quiver. 
And the smoke of the random cannonade 

Rolled slowly from the river. 

And now, where circling hills looked down 
With cannon grimly planted. 

O'er listless camp and silent town, 
The golden sunset slanted. 

When on the fervid air there came 
A strain, now rich, now tender ; 

The music seemed itself aflame 
With day's departing splendor. 



WAR POEMS 167 

A Federal baud, which eve aud morn 
Played measures brave aud nhuble, 

Had just struck up with flute and horn 
And hvely clash of cymbal. 

Down flocked the soldiers to the banks, 

Till margined by its pebbles. 
One wooded shore was blue with "Yanks," 

And one was gray with "Rebels." 

Then all was still, and then the band. 
With movements light and tricksy, 

Made stream and forest, hill and strand, 
Reverberate with "Dixie." 

The conscious stream with burnished glow. 

Went ijroudly o'er its pebbles, 
But thrilled throughout its deepest flow 

With yelling of the Rebels. 

Again a pause, and then again 

The trumpets pealed sonorous, 
And "Yankee Doodle" was the strain 

To which the shores gave chorus. 

The laughing ripple shoreward flew 

To kiss the shining pebbles ; 
Loud shrieked the swarming boys in blue 

Defiance to the Rebels. 



168 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

And yet once more the bugles sang 

Above the stormy riot; 
No shout upon the evening rang — 

There reigned a holy quiet. 

The sad, low stream, its noiseless tread 
Poured o'er the glistening pebbles; 

And silent now the Yankees stood, 
And silent stood the Rebels. 

No unresponsive soul had heard 
That plaintive note's appealing, 

So deeply "Home, Sweet Home" had stirred 
The hidden founts of feeling. 

Or blue or gray, the soldier sees, 

As by the wand of fairy, 
The cottage 'neath the live-oak trees, 

The cabin by the prairie. 

Or cold or warm, his native skies 
Bend in their beauty o 'er him ; 

Seen through the tear-mist in his eyes. 
His loved ones stood before him. 

As fades the iris after rain 

In April's tearful weather. 
The vision vanished as the strain 

And daylight died together. 



WAE POEMS 100 

But memory, waked by music's art, 
Expressed in simplest numbers. 

Subdued the sternest Yanlvee's heart, 
Made light the Rebel's slumbers. 

And fair the form of music shines, 

That bright, celestial creature, 
Who still 'mid war's embattled lines 

Gave this one touch of nature. 



THE SOUTH 

ABRAM JOSEPH EYAN 

Yes, give me the land 

Where the ruins are spread, 
And the living tread light 

On the heart of the dead; 
Yes, give me the land 

That is blest by the dust, 
And bright with the deeds 

Of the down-trodden just. 

Yes, give me the land 

Where the battle's red blast 
Has flashed on the future 

The form of the i^ast; 
Yes, give me the land 

That hath legends and lays 
That tell of the memories 

Of long-vanished days. 



170 LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE 

Yes, give me the kind 

That hath story and song 
To tell of the strife 

Of the right with the wrong; 
Yes, give me the land 

With a grave in each spot 
And names in the graves 

That shall not be forgot. 

Yes, give me the laud 

Of the wreck and the tomb; 
There's grandeur in graves — 

There's glory in gloom. 
For out of the gloom 

Future brightness is born; 
As, after the night, 

Looms the sunrise of morn. 

And the graves of the dead, 

With the grass overgrown. 
May yet form the footstool 

Of Liberty's throne; 
And each simple wreck 

In the way-path of might 
Shall yet be a rock 

In the temple of Right. 



^.^^^S^^# 7 




^^^^^^S^^^^-^'S^ 




Suggested Program for Lee's Birthday 

All Grades 
I. Song — America. 

Primary Grades 
11. Stories* of Lee's Childhood and Early 
Youth. 

III. Poem — A Song for Flag Day — Nesbit. 

Intermediate Grades , 

IV. Stories about Lee in Mexican War 

V. Poem— //a f 5 Oy^'— Bennett. 



* Have pupils teU in tlieir own words various stories and 
incidents about Lee; for example, one child will tell about 
Henry Lee's going to the West Indies; another will relate 
the story of Mom Sarah throwing the shoe at him ; another 
will tell how Robert Lee took care of his mother; another 
about his going to school. The teacher must assist the pupils 
in preparing for this celebration, especially in tlie primary; 
grades. 

[171] 



172 LIFE OF EGBERT E. LEE 

Grammar Grades 
VI. Stories about Lee in AVar Ijetween the 
States. 

VII. Poem — Music in Camp — Thompson. 

VIIL ^ong—Toitiug To-niglit. 

IX. Reading — Selections from Page's Tico 
Little Confederates. 

X. Poem — The Conquered Banner — Ryan. 

High School 
XL Lee as a Citizen. 

XII. Poem — The Sword of Lee — Ryan. 

XIII. ^ong— Dixie. 

XIV. Tributes to Lee after his Death. 

XV. Song — The Star Spangled Banner — Key. 



Supplementary Historical Reading 

Life of General Robert E. Lee 

For Third and Fourth Grades 
Life of General Thomas J» Jackson 

For Third and Fourth Grades 
Life of Washington 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades 
Life of General N. B. Forrest 

Far Fifth Grade 
Life of General J. E. B. Stuart 

For Fifth and Sixth Grades 
Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia 

For Fifth Grade 
Tennessee History Stories 

For Third and Fourth Grades 
North Carolina History Stories 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades 
Texas History Stories 

* For Fifth and Sixth Grades 
Half-Hours in Southern History 

For Sixth and Seventh Grades 
The Yemassee (Complete Edition) 

For Seventh and Eighth Grades 
(Ask for catalog containing list of other supplementarj^ reading) 



JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY 

RICHMOND. VA. 



Supplementary Reading 

"Tell Me a story" price. Postpaid. 

Mrs. Lida B. McMurry— for the First 
Grade 
So-Fat and Mew-Mew 

Georgiana Craik May— for the First Grade 
Grimm's Fairy Stories 

M. W. Haliburton and P. P. Claxton— for 
the First and Second Grades 
Fifty Famous Fables 

Lida B. McMurry— for the Second Grade. 
Around the Lightwood Fire 

Caroline M. Brevard. Indian Mytiis and 
Legends— for the Third Grade. 
From the Land of Stories 

P P Claxton, a delightful little Volume of 
Fairy Tales— for the Third Grade. 

Wonder Tales 

Hans Andersen— for the Third Grade. 

Stories of Bird Life 

T. Gilbert Pearson— for the Grammar 
Grades 
The Gold Bug and Other Selections (Poe) 

R A Stewart— for the Grammar Grades. 

(Ask'for'catalog of other books for supplementary reading.) 

Johnson Publishing Company 

RICHMOND, VA. 



in 



Readings in American Literature 

th. 'vnlte^.liV^r ^.ETCALF. Professor of English ... 
MAMT^A- fi V^ °^ Virg-mia, and HENRY BRANTT V 
^028 pases """ °' ^"^""^^ "' Richmond College ^^ 

i}.n^}7^'r^ ^"T"^ *^^ writings of the best American au- 
LiteralJJirr' ^' supplementary to the study of American 

American Literature 

fify^of^ffinfa^^^- ^'^'^^^^' ^t English in the Univer- 
Illustrated; 

turT^^w^^?"^"^ to realize at last that American litera- 
tha? t ?« i T^ ^"^ off-shoot from English literature, but 
rafts and .triv?n^''/''^*?'" '""^^ ^ ^^^^^'^ °f "^^ional 
ir^it, ,?. Vi ' ^'' ^ century and a quartei- 

^leaVmeSnT"^ '"^ Revolutionary Periods, in wlich no 
gieat hteiature was produced, are exceedingly important 
fLl ^fJ'T'^^i' ^°' the proper estimate of our later Utera- 
ture a;id should not be neglected by the serious student ?f 

wrXsT. /of f'°".'-- ^.•^""^^- treatment of Southern 
^vrlters is to be found m this work than in other texts of 
similar size on American literature. " ^ 

English Literature 

By J. C. METCALF. 
Illustrated; 464 pages 

In reading the book, one is struck with its perfect sanitv 
Everywhere there are evidences of a fine seSse of nronnr' 
tioii and the entire volume is pervaded by an a?m?sphere' 
ttmeTaleTrnpoTsSfe"^^^'" ^" ^^^^^^ exag^gerationTof^^! 

The book is in form and content the outcome of Dr Met- 
ca f s signally successful experience as a teacher of Englfsh 
Literature, and therefore has the additional merit of hav- 
mg^been written "with a definite set of indTvidSalsTn 

Johnson Publishing Co. 

Richmond, Va. 



Literature Texts 

(With Notes for High School Classes.) 



Price, 
Postpaid. 



Addison: Sir Roger de Coverley Papers 

Edited by JOHN CALVIN METCALF 

Burke : Speech on Conciliation with America 

Edited by JAMES M. GARNETT. 

Carlyle : Essay on Burns 

Edited by R. A. STEWART 

Coleridge : The Ancient Mariner 

Edited by NORMAN H. PITMAN, 

Eliot : Silas Marner 

Edited by EVELINA O. WIGGINS 

Goldsmith : The Vicar of Wakefield 

Edited by G. C. EDWARDS 

Macaulay : Essays on Milton and Addison 

Edited by C. ALFHONSO SMITH 

Milton : Minor Poems 

Edited by R. T. KERLIN 

Poe : Poems and Tales 

Edited by R. A. STEWART 

Pope : Homer 's Iliad : Books I, VI, XXII and XXIV 

Edited by FRANCIS E. SHOUP and ISAAC BALL. 

Scott : The Lady of the Lake 

Edited by EVELINA O. WIGGINS 

Shakespeare: Julius Caesar 

Edited by CAROL M. NEWMAN 

Shakespeare: Macbeth ' ^,,^ 

Edited by JOHN CALVIN METCALF 

Shakespeare : The Merchant of Venice 

Edited by ROBERT SHARP, 

Simms: The Yemassee (Complete Edition) 

Edited by M. LYLE SPENCER. 

Tennyson: The Princess 

Edited by CHARLES W. KENT 



Johnson Publishing Company 

Richmond, Va. 



